


In My Time of Need

by SonofHades



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombies, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Blood and Gore, M/M, Male Slash, Rape
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-03
Updated: 2015-02-24
Packaged: 2018-02-19 16:38:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 9
Words: 54,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2395388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SonofHades/pseuds/SonofHades
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Survival was all that seemed to matter anymore. Out of an estimated one million uninfected in the world, and Nico di Angelo got stuck with the one that was far too cheerful for his own good. But perhaps what he really needed right now was someone to be there for him and to watch his back. As long as Nico survived, it was all that he wanted to care about. (Discontinued)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. As I Lay Dying

There has probably been hundreds of different ways that people had theorized how the world would end over the many years that humans have walked the face of the planet. Unfortunately, the one that actually happened involved most of those same humans becoming infected to terrorize the living. Yes, zombies. Well, if that was what people wanted to call it.

See, it wasn't like the traditional zombies that came back to life, or even like in The Walking Dead, where everyone apparently was already infected. Before the power died, the media had been calling it a rage virus. Symptoms included a fever, slow increase in hunger, and irrational anger. Even if they weren't zombies by the traditional sense, the virus was still spread like it.

Fear overtook country by country, but by the time they could identify whether individuals were infected or not, a lot of the world had already succumbed to the virus. And while America had all their guns that they loved so much, it did little to actually help them when the body got right back up after being shot. See, when people panic, they forget things like shoot it in the head.

So now the world was lost. Or, at least, mankind was lost. See, that was the thing about the planet, it doesn't really give a shit about people, it will carry on even without them. Now people were all but extinct, save for the angry shells of what used to be humans running around, trying to find the next meal.

In all his years, Nico had never really been happy to have been a loner, but it kind of prepared one for this when the last person Nico had spoken to had probably been two or three months ago. There were times that he had to just speak out loud to simply remind himself what his voice sounded like.

The seventeen year old boy sat on the hood of a car on an abandoned road. A gun—which he would need to find some more ammo soon—sat next to him. As he ran a hand through his messy and dirty black hair, Nico tilted his head back to finish off a bottle of water that he had filled up when it had rained two days ago. The boy let out a sigh as he turned the bottle upside down, his thirst not quite sated. His dark eyes flickered up to an old road sign that stood partially up the road.

The next town wasn't far away.

Nico didn't like going into towns, but it was sometimes necessary. However, he avoided cities like the things that were now roaming the earth. But food wasn't that easy to come by these days, and he also needed to refuel on water. Also, if he was lucky, Nico might be able to find a new car. His last one was now out of gas, and was currently being used to sit on.

It was so quiet outside, like it always was these days. There was no sound, none at all. It would have been peaceful, if it wasn't so disturbing. Nico let out a breath and hopped off of the car. If he was going to try and make a run for supplies, he would have to do it soon. The sun would set soon, and the last thing Nico wanted was to be in a city or town with those infected things.

It was how Nico had survived for the past year. Make a quick run in, get what he needed, and get out. Try and avoid contact with those things as much as possible, and most definitely do not stop when there was screaming nearby. For the first few months, Nico felt horrible leaving people to die, but those days were over. It wasn't like he could help anyways. If the person was screaming, they were probably already bitten. The last thing he wanted was to get torn apart by one of those things.

He had experienced enough encounters with those things to last him several lifetimes.

Frowning to himself, Nico rubbed his arm tugged on the sleeve of his aviator jacket, making sure the sleeves covered his arms entirely. Letting out a breath, picked up a bag that he carried with him and his gun before heading in the direction of the town. As long as he was out by nightfall, it was all that mattered. It wasn't about outrunning the things. Well, unless they were in poor shape, then it was. Unfortunately for the uninfected, the virus seemed to allow the infected run indefinitely. Which meant that, eventually, an infected would eventually catch you. No, the trick was to be crafty.

The rage and hunger was all these things felt, which meant that someone could outmaneuver them. Ducking down corridors or into rooms, climbing ladders, or finding a way to trap one of those things somewhere were things that Nico had quickly learned could help him survive.

He just couldn't help but to wish that these things were the actual walking dead. Because, logically, a zombie would only last two or three years, if they were technically dead. Which meant people would only have to hold out that long, unless people kept getting infected. This? Yeah, Nico was probably going to be dealing with this into his older years. That was if he even lasted that long. If anyone on the planet could last that long.

Nico let out a sigh as he reached the edge of town. He really wished that he could tell the time by looking at the sun. He had no idea how much longer it would be up. Hell, he didn't even know what day it was. Judging by the decrease of unbearable heat, Nico could only assume it was transitioning from summer to fall.

Unfortunately, like the rest of the world, towns and cities tended to not be as quiet. See, the good thing about these infected was that they tended to make noise in some way or another. Whether it be from grunts or the faint sound of running, they tended to give away some way of letting people know when they were close by. This time was no different as Nico heard a few grunts nearby.

Pushing himself up against the nearest building, Nico peered around the corner. Sure enough, there were at least three of those things just twenty feet away. Judging by the way they crowded around each other on the ground, Nico could only assume they had caught something. It could have been a person, but the more likely case was a deer or a dog. That was the thing that Nico always thought was odd about zombie movies. Why would they just leave animals alone? They are still food.

Nico's eyes darted over one of the infected's shoulder. There was Wallgreens not far away. Maybe if he was lucky, the place wouldn't be picked clean. He fought the urge to snort. Nico? Lucky? Those two things didn't really go together. Still, it was worth a shot. His lips pressed together as he scanned the area.

Moving away from the wall, Nico slid behind an abandoned car, using it as cover to get by the infected. The good news for the living was that these things didn't seem to be able to smell things, save for blood. They attacked purely on sight and sound. So, as long as you stayed out of sight and didn't make a sound, they usually didn't even know you were there.

The other thing that was still a problem lay with finding a working car. Every time that he would probably open a car door, it was a chance that one of those things might hear him. And if it did crank, Nico could only hope that it would be able to make it out of town without breaking down. Or getting swarmed by those things, depending on how many were really in this town.

After about five minutes, Nico finally managed to get over to the Wallgreens. Of course it had sliding doors, so Nico had to pry it open. He was just thankful that the power was dead, so that the stupid ringing noise didn't go off when the doors opened. Looking around briefly, Nico adjusted the backpack's strap on his shoulder. As far as he could tell, the place was empty. Still, it didn't stop him from doing a quick sweep of the place. Nothing.

Nico let out a sigh of relief as he began to poke around the store. As expected, most of the important things were already taken or expired. He did manage to come across one can of pasta and two cartons of juice. He let out a sigh as he dropped those into his bag. The place was a bust. Maybe, if he was lucky, there would be another place in town that he could try.

Leaving the store, Nico slipped down an alley next to the building. He wasn't sure how much longer he really wanted to spend in this town, but Nico did know that the sun probably wouldn't be up much longer. Maybe two hours? Three at the most. Grabbing the straps of his backpack, Nico picked up the pace.

Unfortunately, he really wasn't paying attention to his feet. So, when the boy's leg made contact with a thin metal wire, it caught him off-guard. The boy clamped his mouth shut as he tumbled to the ground. Unfortunately, his hand caught a piece of glass from a broken bottle. His knee hit the bottom half of the bottle, which skidded along the ground until it smashed against the wall. A small hiss escaped his lips as he pulled it away from the ground. The shard of glass was still embedded in his palm, and blood was now dripping down his wrist. Nico cursed silently before tearing off a small strip from the bottom of his shirt. He walked quickly, removing the piece of glass and binding his hand.

All a little too late, though.

Nico's blood ran cold as the all too familiar sound of an angry cry rang out from the distance. Dammit, Nico thought to himself. His eyes scanned anywhere for a ladder, but he wasn't lucky enough to be given one. Pulling the gun from his back pocket, Nico turned the safety off and took off running away from the sounds of those things.

Nico found himself back on one of the streets in the town. He quickly looked around for something, but his brain was already succumbing to the panic. There were cars, but there was also no guarantee that any of them would work. He could already spot flat tires on most of them. Cursing under his breath, Nico took off towards the Town Hall. The doors there were made of heavy oak, which would be capable of keeping those things out.

As he ran up the steps, Nico grasped the door, only to find it locked. Of course it was. For all he knew, people had locked themselves inside, only to trap themselves in there and die from starvation. Turning around, Nico spotted the first of the infected that was after him.

It still looked relatively human, just with sickly pale skin and severe bloodshot eyes. It's yellow and partially broken teeth snapped as it spotted him. The thing had used to be a man, probably in his mid thirties, with thinning blond hair and a slight beer gut. A severely worn and torn jacket sat on top of a ripped, faded blue shirt. The infected man reached out for him, exposing his bloody fingers to Nico.

Nico gritted his teeth. If it was more than one, he would have no qualms with firing off his gun. But he didn't want to alarm others to where he was, so that would probably be a horrible idea. Pressing himself up against the doors of Town Hall, Nico dug around in his backpack. As his fingers wrapped around the hilt of a dagger he carried with him, Nico let out a yelp as he discovered the guy was practically on top of him. Like he said, they were fast.

Out of instinct, Nico sank the dagger into the guy's stomach. That didn't seem to bother the guy at all. He just growled and snapped his teeth at Nico. The raven-haired boy gulped as the man clawed at Nico's jacket covered arms. And, over the guy's shoulder, Nico could already spot three more infected headed his way. Nico pressed his knee against the guy's gut, trying to pull his dagger out. It was stuck.

His breath hitched as he pressed himself against the oak doors as much as possible, the metal handles pressing into his back. Nico fought the urge to vomit as some of the man's guts spilled out onto Nico's hand. The boy's arms began to shake as the infected man slowly pressed closer to him. The other infected were getting closer, and soon Nico would be overtaken by these things.

Letting go of the dagger, Nico kicked the man back and tried to make a break for it. Not to much avail, as the guy managed to grab Nico's ankle before the boy could get very far. The dark-eyed boy tried to scramble across the ground, but the man had a very tight hold on him. The others were nearing the steps. With a small gulp, Nico shut his eyes. This was it, he supposed. There was no escape this time.

Perhaps it was better this way. Well, save for the part where he would walk the planet as a mindless rage zombie for the rest of his years. That part kind of sucked. But at least Nico wouldn't be plagued with all the things that had happened to him since all of this started. He wouldn't have to remember the feel of Bianca's cold blood on his hands as he cradled her cold, dead body.

A strange sound caught Nico's attention. He couldn't quite place it, but the sound was familiar. The next thing Nico knew, the zombie's hold on him loosened. His eyes snapped open and Nico turned his head. A crossbow bolt jutted out of the man's unmoving head. Nico found himself a little shaken as his ears registered a sharp whistle.

Shooting off the ground, Nico ran and looked around for the source of the sound. It was not until he looked up that he was able to locate it. Across the road and the next building down, a blond guy was waving at him. He snapped his hand at Nico and got down on a small metal awning that was closer to the ground, extending his hand down for Nico to grab. Not about to press his luck at just running for it, Nico changed course and ran straight for the building the guy was on top of, slipping his gun into his back pocket as he did so.

“Come on,” the guy yelled at him.

As soon as Nico was close enough, Nico jumped and latched on to the guy's wrist. The blond guy tightened his grip around Nico's wrist and began to haul him up. Unfortunately, one of those other three zombies managed to grab his leg. Nico yelled as his body was jerked downwards. His eyes flashed with fear as he looked up at the blond above him.

The guy's brow furrowed as he bent his knee sideways. Using his free hand, the blond pulled out a knife from a strap on his leg. Nico barely had time to blink before the knife went flying by his head and impaled the infected woman gripping his leg directly in her forehead. The blond quickly pulled Nico onto the awning before they both climbed onto the roof.

Nico laid down on the roof for a moment to catch his breath. “T-Thank you,” he barely managed to breath out. It was very hoarse, and Nico had to clear his throat afterward.

“Don't mention it.” From where the sun was setting, Nico couldn't really make out the guy's features, and he hadn't really been thinking about it a moment ago. Still, the guy's voice was very calm and soft. It was sort of like honey to the ears.

Nico's face heated up a little at that thought. Guys weren't on his list of things to worry about during this apocalypse. Too much trouble, and they never amounted to anything, if Nico's past experiences were anything to go by. Still, he was incredibly grateful that the guy had helped him out, even if Nico probably wouldn't have done the same if the tables were turned.

The boy's eyes flew open when he felt warm hands touching his forehead. He sat up and smacked the hands away. “What are you doing?” He asked defensively.

Now that the guy was crouched down, Nico could make out his savior extremely well.

Whoever he was, the guy couldn't be much older than Nico. He had a soft, youthful face that barely had any dirt on it. The guy had messy sun-kissed hair that came a little below his eyebrows and eyes so blue that Nico felt like he was staring into the sky on a sunny day. He looked tall, probably several inches taller than Nico, and bore an athletic build. The jeans of his long legs were slightly torn around the knees and ankles. His shoes looked new, though. His skin was lightly tanned, and there was even a smile on his face.

A smile, in these times? That factor worried Nico a little. The only people that smiled these days were the ones that were getting ready to carve you up and serve you for dinner. But the smile seemed gentle, and it wasn't like Nico had any other options at the moment, so he stayed put.

“Just checking for fever,” the blond replied cheerfully. Seriously? Who the hell was this guy? Pursing his lips, the guy looked Nico over, eventually settling on Nico's hand. Before Nico could react, the blond had Nico's hand in his own and was inspecting it. “What happened?”

Nico jerked his hand away, his brow furrowing. “I tripped on some wire and fell on some glass.”

Surprise briefly passed through the guy's eyes as he stood back to his feet. “Oh.” The guy rubbed the back of his neck. “I sort of put that there. You know, in case I was being chased. Sorry about that.”

“Wait.” Nico sat up. “You live around here?”

The guy shrugged. “For a few days, then I'll move on.” He smiled softly at Nico. “Been trying to work my way around town and find a working car. I've got the western half of the city covered, but no such luck yet.” He held his hand out for Nico to take. “Come on, it's about to get dark. You can crash with me tonight.”

Nico stood up on his own, a frown marring his features. “You don't even know me.”

The blond tilted his head to the side. “Well, do you really want to go back down there with those things?”

Nico narrowed his eyes. “Are you going to push me, or something?”

That got a small chuckle from his blond savior. “No, I just meant that I don't see any other options.” He pointed over his shoulder. “Come on, I've got a place set up not far from here.” When Nico didn't move, the blond let out a sigh. “I've got some food I can spare you, if that is enticing enough.”

As if on cue, Nico's stomach growled. Narrowing his eyes at the cheerful look on the blond's face, Nico picked up his backpack and placed it on his shoulder. “Lead the way,” the boy grumbled.

On the way, Nico kept glancing over at the guy. Whoever he was, the guy seemed content with how things were going. Nico had not seen someone this cheerful in a very long time. It was sort of nice, not that he would say it out loud. But the mystery that most plagued Nico was how the hell this blond hero-wannabe managed to look so clean. Even his teeth were white. The last time Nico had brushed his teeth had probably been weeks ago.

It wasn't like he had anyone to impress, but it was mostly hard to find time for personal hygiene in a world like this.

Nico arched a brow as they crossed some wooden planks along the rooftops. “Did you do this?”

The blond smiled at Nico. “Yep. I use it to help me get around the town, though it's really not that much. I just put down a few planks to places I felt were important. I memorized where all of the dumpsters and ladders are, too, so that I could quickly get up here.” He shrugged a little. “I mean, it's not perfect. Obviously, since this is just a town, I can't connect all the buildings.” The blond motioned across the road. “Getting across streets is a little more complicated. You have to jump down and run across the road. Don't really have most of that side set up yet.”

Nico followed the blond's finger across the road. His brow furrowed. Was this guy planning on staying here long? Most people stayed on the move, or tried their luck with a survivor camp. Like, he could read Nico's mind, the blond continued.

“I mean, I'm going to try and leave soon. So, I guess I shouldn't spend so much of my time setting it all up. Still, it might help someone in the future that passes through here.” Stopping momentarily, the guy held out his hand. “So, what's your name?”

Nico just gave him a strange look, keeping his hands at his sides. Was this guy even real? Who acted this friendly these days? And how the hell did he look so clean?

“Ah, not much of a talker, eh?” The blond chuckled, causing Nico's stomach to do a small flip. He continued to hold his hand out. “My name is Will. Will Solace.”

Nico's eyes flickered down to Will's hand. Slowly, he reached out and shook it. “Nico.”

“Just Nico?”

Nico frowned. “Be lucky I even told you that.”

If possible, the guy's smile only grew. “What, are you afraid I'll follow you home? Maybe stalk you online?” Nico fought the urge to roll his eyes. The guy did have a point. “Come on, it's not like I'm going to bite.”

“Fine,” Nico sighed. “Nico di Angelo.”

“That's a pretty name.” Will started to walk again, which Nico was thankful for, since his cheeks turned a little pink. As they neared another plank, Will pressed a hand against Nico's chest, silently raising a finger to his lips. “No more talking until we get back to the place I'm staying at. Don't need those things following us.”

Nico quietly nodded and the two carried on. After moving to the next building, Will had them hop a small distance to a nearby building. The blond jumped over first and held his hand out to catch Nico if he didn't quite make it. Nico just rolled his eyes and jumped, not even bothering to try and reach out for the offered appendage. There was no point in making nice with this guy, Nico would just move on after getting some rest.

They eventually climbed down when the two reached a rusted ladder. Will's hand rested on the strap of his crossbow that rested on his back. Nico's eyes flickered lower. A pistol rested in the blond's back pocket. Perhaps his eyes lingered a little too long down there, which nearly caused him to trip when they reached a sidewalk.

Will whirled around to see what the problem was, but Nico just glared at him. The blond stared at him questionably, but did not say anything. The two moved towards the residential part of town, passing by several houses until Will stopped in front of one.

It was a two story house with iron barred door on the outside of the house. The entire house was surrounded by a thick wooden fence, which Will quickly opened for them. Nico quickly looked around the yard while Will fastened the latch and locked it with a padlock. It almost looked untouched. The grass was overgrown, but that was how grass was pretty much everywhere now. However, Nico did notice a well to the side of the house.

His dark eyes flickered back over to where the blond stood. Was that how he managed to look so clean?

Will seemed to notice where Nico was looking. He chuckled and headed for the door. “Nice, right? They even have a manual pump around back, so we can get some fresh water.”

“So, you take cold baths?”

Not answering right away, Will opened the iron door and pressed his back against it. He reached for the handle of the inner door and it opened with no problem. “Actually, the place still has a gas stove.” He stepped inside, holding the door open for Nico. “I mean, obviously I can't take a shower, but it's nice to be able to wash up. I've got some deodorant and toothpaste, if you want some.”

Nico's dark eyes flickered over to the blond. “I'm sorry if I smell, it's sort of the apocalypse out there.”

Will quickly held up his hands with a soft chuckle. “I didn't mean it like that. It's just that...I sort of figured it wasn't something you were able to indulge in very often. It was a relief for me when I found out about the well.” He shrugged and motioned up the stairs. “Anyways, there's a second bedroom upstairs, if you want to drop your stuff up there. I'd suggest sleeping up there, just in case some of those things actually did manage to get inside.”

Nico's brow furrowed as he inspected the place. The windows had been boarded up, but there was a lantern in the small living room. Another lantern could be found in the kitchen as well, probably both Will's doing.

As if he noticed Nico's staring, Will spoke again. “The place was boarded up when I found it. Judging from all the water they had stored up, my best guess was that the people that lived here were trying to hold out here. But I didn't find any bodies, so I can only assume they eventually left.” That soft smile of his still lingered on his face as he turned on one of the lanterns. “I can make food, if you want to get cleaned up.”

That really did sound appealing, and Nico was starving. But this guy was being too nice, and Nico didn't know how to deal with it. What was this guy's angle? People weren't this nice anymore? Everyone was hostile or guarded. There was no room for this kind of friendliness in their world anymore.

Without even getting a reply from Nico, Will stepped into the kitchen and turned on the other lantern and worked on getting the stove lit. “I've got some clothes I scavenged up in my room, if you want something clean to wear,” the blond said with his back to Nico. “They're probably big on you, but I figure it's better than nothing. I suppose we could try finding you some clothes tomorrow.”

“How long are you even planning on staying here?” Nico asked, his brow furrowed. Did this guy even understand that the world had ended?

Will stood up and blinked in surprise. “Well, I was thinking about leaving tomorrow.” He rubbed his neck. “There's a local garage on the other side of town. A car there works, or at least it seemed to work. I would have had it yesterday, if the owner of the place hadn't tried to eat my face.” He chuckled nervously. “The guy sort of caught me by surprise, so I shot him without thinking. It kind of drew more attention.”

“So, why didn't you just go get it later?”

Will shrugged, digging around in a small bag that was next to the stove. The blond pulled out two cans of ravioli. “Well, I was going to go and get it today, but then I found you,” Will replied. Oh. Nico let out a sigh. “No worries, I'll just get it tomorrow. Seriously, I've got the food covered, if you want to go freshen up. There's a couple of jugs upstairs in the bathroom. I boiled the water to make sure it was clean, so it should still be lukewarm. And there's some old rags in the cabinet that the owners left behind.”

As much as Nico wanted to argue that he didn't need someone to take care of him, he was just too tired. It had been a long and tiring day, and Nico really wanted some food. So, instead of opening his mouth, the boy just let out a breath and dragged his feet up the stairs. He poked his head into the first room on the left, which looked relatively empty.

Dropping his bag on the floor, Nico closed the door and opened the door on the opposite side of the hall. This one had a little more in it. There was a large duffel bag on the floor, partially unzipped. In the middle of the bed was a shotgun with a box of ammo beside it.

Stepping into the room, Nico opened the bag on the floor. Sure enough, it was full of clothes. He felt weird as he pulled out a fresh shirt and a pair of boxers. Had Will worn any of this? It really shouldn't have mattered, but Nico felt weird taking underwear that could have been worn by the hero-wannabe downstairs. Nico pulled out a pair of jeans from the bottom of the bag and stood back up. Gathering it all in his arms, the boy left the room and headed to the bathroom at the end of the hall.

What Nico found when he entered the bathroom caused him to freeze.

“Holy shit,” the boy muttered under his breath.

Jugs of water littered the left side of the bathroom floor. Not only that, but there were large buckets of water on the right side of the room. More than likely, Will had run out of containers to put the water in. Still a little surprised by how much water the blond had collected, Nico put down the fresh clothes on the top of the sink and began to strip out of his old clothing.

After he was naked, Nico picked up one of the buckets and carried it over to the tub. Sure enough, Nico was able to find a clean rag in one of the cabinets. He sat a jug of water next to the bucket before climbing into the tub. There was some soap and shampoo on the edge of the tub, probably something Will had gathered along the way.

Nico picked up the jug and let the water splash across his body. He didn't really want to use much of it, but it had been far too long that Nico was able to have a real bath. And it had been much longer that anyone had been able to have a shower. The water felt so nice as it ran across his skin. It was like Nico could feel all the dirt he had been building up on his body wash off of him.

After most of his body was good and wet, Nico wet the washcloth and ran it along his skin. He scrubbed a little harder than he used to back when everything was normal, trying his hardest to get as much dirt off of him as possible.

The challenge came when Nico tried to wash his hair. In the end, the boy decided it would just be easier to dump his head into the bucket. He then scrubbed it with shampoo before dunking his head back into the bucket. It wasn't as good as a nice, hot shower, but it was more than satisfying.

He dumped the used water from the bucket into the tub before climbing out and grabbing a towel. He wrapped it around his waist before walking over to the sink. On the right side of the counter was a small bag full of deodorant and toothpaste. There also happened to be a few unopened toothbrushes, so Nico swiped one of those.

After brushing his teeth, Nico ran his tongue around his teeth for a few seconds, smacking his lips. His mouth felt so clean, the faint stinging of not cleaning his mouth very present. Nico took a few minutes to inspect himself. It had been a while since he had seen himself this clean. Even his nails were void of dirt. Reaching up, Nico pressed a finger under his eyes. Dark circles had formed there from his lack of sleep. Nico sighed and ran a hand through his wet, messy black hair. It was getting a little too long for his liking, but scissors were not that easy to come by. A weapon was a weapon in this day and age.

As Nico was sliding himself into the fresh jeans he had grabbed from Will's bag, Nico grabbed his upper arm and inspected it. His lips tilted down at the faint scar that sat there. A knock at the door jarred him from his inner thoughts.

“Dinner is ready,” Will's voice rang through the door.

“Coming,” Nico mumbled. He quickly grabbed the long sleeve shirt and threw it on, making sure to tug down the sleeves as far as they would go. Letting out a sigh, Nico opened the door.

Will smiled down at him. “You look much better.”

This guy really did not need to speak. How did Will not feel embarrassed when he said things like that? Just Nico's luck, he found another oblivious guy that didn't realize the things he said to Nico. It was very common for Nico back in the day. Stumble across a nice straight guy that was way too friendly towards Nico, but had no real interest in him.

Nico mentally slapped himself as he stood in the doorway of the bathroom. That kind of thinking did not need to exist in his life right now. There were more important things to worry about, like survival. Besides, the two would part ways soon, and Nico would never see him again. Will would just be another corpse walking the planet soon. That was usually what happened to the people that Nico tried to stick around. They all died eventually.

Will arched a brow as Nico just sort of stood there. He motioned down the hall. “You coming? I imagine it's not every day you get to have a warm meal.”

Nico shook his head to shake himself of his thoughts. “Right, sorry.”

While Nico was in the shower, Will had placed the food in the living room. Nico quietly sat down on the couch and picked up his bowl, a cup of water on a small table beside him. There was still the silence that Nico was used to, but this felt awkward. Nico had not been around another living person in quite some time. Well, perhaps living was not the right word. As far as studies showed, the infected weren't technically undead.

“So, where are you headed?” Will suddenly asked.

Nico's eyes flickered over to the blond, only to shove a piece of ravioli into his mouth. There was no point in talking. Sure, he was thankful that the guy had helped him out, but it didn't matter in the long run. However, Nico's irritated expression didn't even seem to faze the blond.

“You really don't talk much, do you?” The corners of Will's mouth tilted up a little. “Well, I thought I'd go looking for some survival camp. I'm sure there's one out there that hasn't been overrun by the zombies.” He poked at his food a little, staring at Nico. “You know, I heard there were some islands that were free of the infection.”

“And they also say the same about places like Russia, Canada, and Alaska,” Nico mumbled. His lips tilted down. “It's all just rumors and pointless hope. Staying on the move and not doing stupid shit is what keeps you alive. There is nowhere to go.”

Will scrunched his lips. “That's pretty abysmal thinking.” Nico did not look amused when he looked up from his food. Will chuckled a little. “I'm sure there's something out there. It can never hurt to try.”

“What's the point?”

After taking a bite of his food, Will shook his head. “You know, that's the sort of thing I'd expect from someone that's given up.” He nodded his head upstairs. “If that's the case, why haven't you just pulled the trigger on that gun I saw you carrying and end your suffering?”

Nico's gaze softened a little. He glanced down at his bowl of food and poked at it lightly. What was he supposed to say to that? As much as he hated to admit it, the guy had a point. It was very tiring at times, though. And it wasn't like the thought hadn't crossed Nico's mind several times in the past. It was like a daily struggle at this point.

Will watched him carefully, chewing his food in silence. “It's just that hope is all we've really got these days.” His brow furrowed. “You shouldn't try taking that away from people, especially when you aren't convinced yourself.”

Nico's grip tightened on his jeans. His eyes flashed with anger as he shot up from the couch. He grabbed the water that had been set aside for him and his food before heading up the stairs. Will's blue eyes followed him, but the blond didn't say anything. Once in the room that he was currently using, Nico slammed the door.

He knew that he shouldn't be angry, but he was. Who was this guy to talk that way to Nico? Will barely knew Nico, and probably wouldn't even like Nico if he actually did know him. Nico could only imagine that Will would be the popular guy at school that ignored people like Nico's existence. He had probably used that smile of his to get his way with the less fortunate.

Several hours later, Nico was awoken by a loud cracking noise. He jolted up in bed with a yelp. His hand shot under his pillow for his gun on instinct. Crawling out of bed, Nico walked over to the window in the room—which had not been boarded up. His heart pounded in his chest as he spotted a mangled hand ripping at a top portion of the wooden fence surrounding the house. A few more hands shot up to grab at it as well.

There was a light knock at the door, which nearly gave Nico a heart attack. A second later, the door opened and Will poked his head in. The blond was carrying a wooden bat in his hand. Nico was thankful that it was dark, because his face heated up at the realization that Will was in nothing but a T-shirt and boxers.

The blond quietly walked over to where Nico stood at the window and peered outside. “Well, I suppose tomorrow is a good day to leave.”

“Yeah,” Nico muttered. His brow furrowed. “What are they doing? They can't know we're in here, can they?”

Will shook his head. “Probably not. Perhaps they are just curious. If we're lucky, they'll be gone by the morning.” The blond smiled a little and ran a hand through his hair. “As long as they don't get through, there's not much to worry about. You should get back to sleep. I'm sure we'll wake up if they start getting through. I'll move the few things that I keep downstairs up here just to be safe, though.” Nico's face turned pink when Will actually placed a hand on his head. It was so warm. “You should get some more sleep, you looked exhausted.”

“I-okay.” Nico wanted to protest, but his head still felt warm from where Will had touched him. He honestly had trouble remembering if everyone was this warm. He cleared his throat and looked away from the blond. “Then you can leave, so that I can actually get some sleep.”

Will just grinned at him. “Are you implying that I could keep you up all night?” And, even in the dark, Nico was able to make out a small wink the blond gave him.

Nico managed to keep a straight face as he narrowed his eyes and pointed at the door. “If you don't go, I'll make it so that you can't use your friend downstairs ever again.”

All that did was make Will chuckle. But the blond shook his head and headed for the door. After it was closed, Nico let out a breath. What the hell? What, did this guy just run around and hit on people because it was the end of the world and he might never know which night might be his last? Yeah, well, if he expected Nico to fall for that, the guy had another thing coming.

\--------------------------

Will woke Nico up shortly after sunrise. All through the small breakfast that they had, Nico glared at the blond. Nico was far from a morning person. He had no idea how Will was capable of putting on his usual smile this early.

After they each had a quick bath, the two gathered a few weapons and left the house. The top portion of the fence was a little worse than it had been when Nico had looked at it during the night, and there was even some traces of skin and blood to be found around the chipped portions of the wood. Will seemed to ignore it as the two stepped outside the gate. The street was deserted, much to Nico's relief.

The two quietly walked along the road, Nico following a few paces behind Will. Eventually, the blond took them back to the rooftops, where they followed a small path that Will had created. When they reached a small park, Will jumped down and offered to catch Nico. The raven-haired boy was far too stubborn to accept the help and jumped down, stumbling a little. And when Will tried to help him up, Nico shoved him away.

Will didn't say anything, though. Not that he could, unless he wanted to draw attention to them. There were a few of the infected in the park, so Will led them the long way around. They ducked down an alley and eventually ended up at the garage that Will had spoken of.

They stood in front of a chain link fence, where Will pointed through at one of the cars. A bright red car. Nico narrowed his eyes. Will just blinked at him. “What? It looks nice, which means the person had to pay a pretty penny to have it fixed. And it works, so stop giving me that look,” the blond supplied.

Nico shook his head as they hopped the fence. He watched the outside, checking to make sure none of those things had heard the rattling when they jumped. Will walked over to the car and opened the door. He smiled and held up the keys. Rolling his eyes, Nico turned his attention back to outside the fence. His brow furrowed a little.

Two of those things were now stumbling around a block away. He wasn't sure if they had heard the small amount of noise, but they seemed to be ignoring the garage. Still, when Will cranked the car, all of the zombies in the town would come running. Letting out a breath, Nico headed over to where the car was.

“So, what's the plan?” Nico asked. “You're going to draw attention when you crank it.”

Will rested his arms on top of the car, looking across at Nico. “Well, I could always open the fence and you drive it out, so long as you know how to drive a stick.”

Nico's brow furrowed. “Why don't you just drive it?”

“I'd rather you be safely in the car.” This time, Nico wasn't so fortunate to have the cover of darkness to hide his blush. It brought a smile to Will's lips. “So, do you know how to drive a stick?” The blond asked.

“Never learned,” Nico admitted. His eyes flickered back over to the gate. One of those things was now looking at them, and it looked pretty angry. A second later, the thing charged, the other following behind it. Nico let out a curse. “I'll get the gate.”

Will eyed the gate. “I'd rather you not.”

Nico just pulled out his gun. At least this way, Nico wouldn't feel like he owed the guy for anything. But the more likely scenario was that Will would drive off as soon as the gate was open. It was just how things worked. Not to mention that the two at the gate would come running as soon as the gate opened.

Will let out a sigh. “Fine,” he said, pointing a finger at the two zombies at the gate, “but shoot those two first.” Nico was about to argue, but Will cut him off. “More will come when I crank the car, two shots isn't going to make a big difference.”

Will shrugged and climbed into the car. Nico frowned as he turned around and headed for the gate. Cocking his gun, the boy pointed it at the head of the zombie on the left. With the pull of a trigger, the zombie crumpled to the ground, which only seemed to aggravate his friend. Sure enough, Nico heard the cry of more of those infected in the distance. They would be here soon. Blinking once, Nico put the other one down and opened the gate just as ten more of the infected rounded a corner up the street.

“Shit,” Nico cursed.

The car roared to life behind him and Nico heard the tires squeal. Nico's breath hitched as one of those things came from around the corner of the gate and tried to jump on him. Before he had time to aim, the red car hit the shell of a man head on. A little shocked, Nico turned towards the car.

The door was flung open and Will beckoned towards him. “Hurry up!” He shouted.

Not needing to be told twice, Nico shot into the car. Before he even had the door closed, Will shot away from the garage, doing his best to dodge all of the zombies. Nico finally let out a breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding. That was far too many of those things for his liking.

He slowly turned towards Will, who didn't take his eyes off the road. “Those things are going to follow the noise.”

Will slowly nodded. “That's why I had you pack before we left. We'll toss everything into the car and try and leave before they get to us.”

“Wait,” Nico breathed out. “Are you trying to imply that I'm coming with you? I didn't agree to that.” A frown set in on his face. “I'll be fine on my own.”

“Really? Please shut up.” Will turned an annoyed glance on Nico for a mere second. “I'm not going to leave you at that house, which will probably end up being overrun if they follow us back.” He looked at Nico again. “Are you really going to tell me that you'd rather be on your own, than have someone around to watch your back? That's a load of bullshit and irresponsible.”

Nico just shook his head. “Why do you even care?”

“Because, I still have a heart, and not all people are going to sell you out at their convenience.” As they neared the house, Will relaxed a little. “Look, at least come with me until we are several miles from the town. I couldn't, in good conscious, leave you on the side of the road with those things right behind you.”

Will quickly parked the car when they reached the house, not even bothering to turn it off. The two bolted for the house. Nico ran for his bag, which he had left on the couch. When he looked up, Nico found Will's eyes on him. The boy fidgeted a little, not used to being stared at like that. It was unreadable, but so intense. Will just pressed his lips together and went back to grabbing his things. Slinging his bags onto his shoulders, Will opened the door again.

Once the bags were in, Will ran back one last time. Nico's brow furrowed when the blond came back a few seconds later with another bag that was stuffed into the trunk. Glancing into the mirror, Nico spotted the first few zombies that had caught up to them. Nico's grip tightened onto something rather soft. Quickly looking down, the boy was surprised to find that it was Will's arm.

The blond grinned at him as the car shot away from the house, leaving the infected in the dust. A sense of relief washed over Nico as he sank into his seat. This was why he avoided cities and towns as much as possible. It was less likely to stumble across a mob of those things the farther you got from old populated areas.

As they drove, Will turned his head a little to face Nico. “I don't suppose I could convince you to stay?” He smiled a little. “I sure would feel safer with someone watching my back. And I kind of miss having company around.” He still smiled, even when Nico refused to meet his eyes.

Eventually, probably thirty or so minutes after leaving the town, Will stopped the car. He pursed his lips as he turned in his seat to face Nico. The brown-eyed boy glanced out the window. There was nothing for miles. Letting out a breath, Nico opened his door.

Dark eyes widened when a hand clamped down on his wrist. With a frown, Nico turned to face Will, ready to chew the jerk out. However, the look of concern quickly shut him up. “Please? I really don't feel right letting you just walk off in the middle of nowhere. Am I really that unbearable to be around?” Nico felt the blond's thumb rub against his wrist. “Just stay with me, at least until we find some refugee camp or something, and then you'll never have to talk to me again if you don't wan to.”

It was very hard for Nico's brain to process most of what Will had just said to him. The blond had leaned forward while talking, and now their faces were only as far apart as the armrest that was in between them.

“Please?” Will whispered.

That one word managed to seal Nico's fate. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Nico just looked at Will and nodded. Neither of them said anything as Nico shut his door, but the boy did catch sight of the smile that appeared on Will's lips. Will shifted gears and took off again, still smiling. Nico's eyes flickered down to his hand, where Will still had a soft hold on his wrist. And, for the first time in months, Nico's lips tilted up as he looked out the passenger window.


	2. The Doctor's Orders

“Remind me again why you're looking for another car?” Nico sighed and rested his elbow on top of the red car they had been riding in. He blinked over to another car, where the lower half of Will poked out from under the hood. “This one is still working.”

A blond head of hair emerged from underneath the hood. Will raised a hand and wiped his forehead, which only managed to smear some grease on his face. “I just thought we could use a better ride. There's no telling how long we're going to be riding around, so I'd just like a car that has good mileage on it.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Any luck?”

Will had drove half the day after leaving the town, only to stop when they came across a car graveyard in the middle of the highway. For the past two hours, Will had been scavenging for parts, or better yet, a car that consumed less gas. A few working parts from cars now littered the backseat and a wheel had been stored in the trunk with the bag that Will had run back to get. As it turned out, the blond had thought ahead. It had been filled with jugs of water, so that they wouldn't get dehydrated.

“Almost got it,” Will muttered, already back under the hood.

Nico's lips tilted down as his eyes scanned the blond's arms. The weather was no longer the hot days that Nico had been dealing with. Now the air was slightly chilly, yet the blond idiot over there thought he needed to take his shirt off. At least the blond had a sleeveless shirt on underneath.

Will was just frustrating to look at, in Nico's opinion. There were times that the raven-haired boy wanted to inspect the blond for imperfections.

“It's going to get dark soon,” Nico reminded his traveling companion. He had been quiet for most of Will's scavenging, but there was no way Nico was going to be caught outside after dark. The boy let out a sigh, his eyes darting to the backseat. He could always just crawl into the trunk and sleep there, and then he could keep the seat down to keep the air circulating. It wasn't his fault if Will couldn't find anywhere safe to sleep, though.

“I've almost got it.”

Will seemed to be convinced the car he was looking at would work. Nico wasn't so convinced. Eventually, though, the blond stepped back and wiped his hands together. He beamed over at Nico.

“So, um, could you get it started for us?”

Nico arched a brow at the blond. “Why don't you do it?”

“Um...” Will rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I don't really know how to hot-wire a car.”

The boy gave him an incredulous look. “But you know how to work on one?”

The blond shrugged and closed the hood. “Just the basics. My uncle showed me when I was fifteen. My mother didn't want me to get stranded on the side of the road, I guess.” He smiled and motioned to the car. “So, could you do the honors?”

“Are you implying that I know how to do such a thing?” Nico asked in annoyance.

“Well, I mean... No, um, that's not what I-” Will shut his mouth, the tips of his ears turning red. “I was just kind of hoping...”

Nico rolled his eyes as he walked over to the car. “Relax, I'll be your savior.” He opened the driver side door and bent over to pry out the wires. It took him a few tries, but the engine eventually roared to life. Nico stood up, a smug look on his face. “There.” He rolled his eyes and walked back to their old car. “Now, can we get moving?”

After throwing everything into the new car, the pair were on the road again. Will kept asking if Nico wanted to go anywhere in particular, see anything that he might have wanted to see in the past, but didn't really answer. This guy realized most attractions were probably overrun by zombies now, right? It wasn't some game.

Will eventually noticed Nico rubbing his injured hand. “I can take care of that for you when we find somewhere to rest.”

Nico glared over at the blond. “You mean fix the injury that you caused?”

Will's brow furrowed as he turned his attention back to the road. “It's not like I knew that you'd get hurt by it. I didn't even know there would be another living person that showed up in town.” He glanced at Nico's hand again. “But I'll fix it up tonight.”

Unfortunately for Nico, his traveling companion was a talker. So, to fix his problem, Nico leaned his seat back, crossed his arms, and closed his eyes. Will seemed to take the hint, though. However, his dreams were never a place Nico liked to visit. Worst of all, it was one of Nico's least favorite dream to have.

It was the day his father, Hades, and Nico had helped Bianca move into her new dorm. It was the first time that Nico had really been apart from his sister, and the boy did not take it well. Bianca assured him that everything would be fine and that she would visit whenever she could, but Nico could tell that she was ready to get out on her own. After their mother had passed away, she was pretty much the sole person to look after Nico. Their father was always too busy with work, and Nico rarely saw him until after supper.

Nico helped Bianca and Charon, one of their father's employees, move some boxes up to his sister's new room. Their father? Too busy talking on his phone to actually help them. In fact, the only time the man had actually gotten off the phone had been when it came time to say goodbye to Bianca. He gave her a small smile and patted the girl on the head, telling her to make them proud.

When it came time to go, Nico clung to his sister. It was not one of his more prideful moments, as he nearly cried while he clung to his sister. He hadn't even turned sixteen at the time. Having your fifteen year old brother cling to you and look on the verge of tears was probably not the best way to start your college experience.

But eventually their father had pried Nico off of his sister. As they drove off, Nico turned in his seat to stare at his sister from the back window. She had a small smile on her face, giving her brother a small wave. It was the last time Nico would ever see his sister before the world fell apart.

Nico sat up with a start, bashing his forehead against Will's face. The blond jerked back, hitting the back of his head against the roof of the car. Will tightly pressed his lips together to keep from making too much noise, but he narrowed his eyes very darkly at Nico

Rubbing the back of his head, Will pulled his head out of the car. “I found us a place to crash for the night,” the blond grumbled.

Nico rolled his eyes as he pulled backpack into his lap. “I guess you'll think twice about touching me next time.”

Will let out a soft chuckle. “And here I was hoping to snuggle you through the winter.”

The blond's sarcasm did not amuse the raven-haired boy. He climbed out of the car and removed his gun from his backpack, slipping it into his back pocket. The boy arched an eyebrow as he inspected their surroundings.

The sun was beginning to set, so it wasn't like it mattered where they were really at this point. Will had managed to find an abandoned motel—not like everything wasn't abandoned these days. It had two floors, and Nico already knew he planned to stay on the upper level. Yes, those things could get up stairs, but it still gave him some comfort to be higher up. There were a few tree surrounding the building, but their leaves had begun to fall off. Yep, definitely turning into fall. A lot of the leaves from the previous year were still covering the sidewalk and parking lot, since there wasn't anyone to get rid of them.

The building itself didn't look too bad. There were a few broken windows, and Nico was able to spot a few doors that were knocked down, but the place would do. Right now, they just needed to make sure the place wasn't swarming with infected.

However, Will actually had the audacity to stop him when they were about to enter the office. “You should stay here, I can check it out and get a key.”

Nico removed the blond's hand from his shoulder. “Or...I could go in there. Do not treat me like a child.”

The blond smirked a little. “Funny, since you look pretty young.”

“I'm seventeen!” Nico snapped without thinking.

Instantly, Will's hand clamped over his mouth, his blue eyes darting around the surrounding area. “Then you're still young,” the blond hissed.

“And how old are you anyways? You don't look much older than me.”

Will slowly opened the door, motioning for Nico to step inside. The boy did, crossing his arms over his chest as he went. “I'm nineteen.” Will was already behind the desk, putting his crossbow down on its wooden surface. He smiled at Nico before turning around to look at the keys on the wall. “Was in the middle of my sophomore year, actually.”

“Fascinating,” Nico mumbled, keeping his eyes on the door. Fortunately for them, no zombie seemed to have heard Nico earlier. “Can we just get some keys?”

“Keys?” Will turned around and blinked. “Um, no, we're sharing a room.” At this, Nico turned around with a dark look on his face. Will did not back down, though. “Sorry, buddy, but there's safety in numbers. And I don't need you to be in another room if there are some zombies beating on one of the doors.”

Nico's nostrils flared, but he kept his mouth shut. He did not want to sleep in the same room as this guy. It was bad enough to be trapped in the same car with Will all day, he didn't need to wake up to the idiot's face either. “Fine, but we're getting a room with two beds.”

Will just smiled. “Honeymoon suite it is.”

“I'll kill you,” Nico growled as the blond picked a key off the wall.

“Relax,” Will chuckled. He twirled the key around on his finger, grabbing his crossbow. “It's just a normal suite. Though, I have no way of knowing what the bed situation is.” He rolled his eyes at the dark look Nico gave him. “If it's a single bed, I'll come back and get a new key.”

Nico turned around and pushed the door open. “Or you could just sleep on the floor.”

“You're so warm and fuzzy, has anyone ever told you that?” That smirk was still on Will's face as he fished the bags out of the backseat. Nico glared at the blond as he grabbed his backpack. “You can glare all you want, but I know you don't hate me. You wouldn't have come with me otherwise.”

“Then maybe I'll just leave.”

Will stopped on the stairs and turned around to face Nico. “I'd rather you not, in all seriousness. I get that you probably feel like you don't need to be taken care of, and I don't know who made you this way, but you're just going to have to trust me for now.”

“Or I don't,” Nico countered. “You have a car, I need a way of traveling. And, like you said, I can be rid of you once we're somewhere safe.”

“If that's what you want.”

Nico did not miss the way the blond's lips tilted down. The younger of the two let out a sigh as he followed Will up the stairs. Their room was at the end of upper floor. The door looked sturdy enough, but they might need to do something about the windows. Will unlocked the door and pushed it open.

As it turned out, Will had been lucky enough to get a room that contained two beds. They were on twins, but they would do. The room was quite dirty. Dust flew into the air as Will blew on the screen of a TV. Nico coughed and blew the dust out of his face, tossing the blond a dark look. Ignoring the smaller boy, Will tossed his bags on the bed closest to the door.

“Who said you could have that bed?” Nico argued.

Will merely glanced at Nico from the corner of his eye, already on his way back out the door. “I did, and you can deal with it.” The blond motioned over his shoulder. “You're sleeping over there, on the bed farthest from the door.”

When the door shut, Nico's cheeks tinged pink. Will seriously needed to get over this hero thing. Nico did not need someone to take care of him, he had been doing just fine over the past year. Nico sat down on the edge of the bed Will had directed him to with a huff. He put his backpack on the floor beside his bed before checking the bathroom. They probably would have heard if something were in there, but it never hurt to be safe.

Nico wrinkled his nose at the toilet. The lid had been left up, exposing the murky water that remained inside. If he could, Nico would have flushed it. But, instead, the boy just closed the lid and turned off the bathroom light. A second later, Will returned with the duffel bag full of water.

From one of his bags, Will pulled out a lantern from the house they had been in the night before. He sat it between their beds before sitting down on his own bed. Nico's brow furrowed as Will removed his shoes. Was the blond just going to ignore Nico now? The jerk!

With a huff, Nico opened the door. “Where do you think you're going?” Will asked.

“If you must know, I need to go to the bathroom,” Nico fired back. The blond blinked at him in surprise before he began to dig through his bag. Nico narrowed his eyes before he stepped outside. He really did need to go to the bathroom, but Nico also wanted some privacy away from his traveling companion for a while. There was no telling when Nico would get more alone time.

After relieving his bladder, Nico zipped up his jeans and walked around the the side of the motel. There were some cars parked in front of the hotel, though most looked broken. Now that the sun was almost gone for the day, the air had turned chilly. Nico slipped his hands into the aviator jacket that he wore, clinging the jacket closer to himself.

Once again, Nico was thrown into the overwhelming silence of the world, aside from the occasional noise that came from up in their room. Nico quickly turned his head when a branch broke in the woods. His eyes quickly scanned the woods, but there didn't seem to be anything there. Still, Nico pulled out a knife that Will had given him earlier that morning from where he kept it tucked in his sock.

In these times, uninfected people didn't go into deep woods unless they got desperate. And, considering the sun was nearly down, the chances were even less likely. Nobody in their right mind went into woods at night. There was always the chance it was just an animal, but Nico wasn't about to take chances.

Nico practically jumped out of his skin when a hand clamped down on his shoulder. Rolling his eyes, the boy turned around to chew Will out for scaring him. Unfortunately, it wasn't Will.

A bloody-faced woman stood in front of Nico, baring her teeth at him. Her hand tightened on Nico's shoulder, trying to scratch him, but the jacket was too thick. As she moved forward, Nico thrust his dagger underneath her chin. The body instantly crumbled to the ground.

Not catching a break, something tackled Nico from behind. Rolling onto his back, Nico found a very large man on top of him. His right eye was missing, and some skin dangled out of the right corner of his mouth. Some bile rose in Nico's mouth as he realized one of the zombie's finger bones was sticking out of the skin.

Sadly, the dagger wasn't going to do Nico much good this time, as the zombie had his arm pinned. “Will!” The boy yelled out, his eyes wide. Some drool dripped down onto his neck.

The next thing Nico knew, a bolt impaled the zombie in the head and the body crumpled on top of the boy. With a grunt, Nico pushed the body off and jumped to his feet. He made a face as he inspected himself. Quickly, Nico wiped the zombie's drool off of his neck. With a glance up to the second floor, Nico found Will with a stern look on his face.

“Do you just go around trying to get eaten?” Will grumbled, resting the crossbow against his shoulder.

Nico glared up at the blond. “I had to pee.”

“Yeah, sure.” Will rolled his eyes and headed back into the room. “I'm sure that's why it took so long.” Once they were both inside the room, Will put his crossbow on the small table in the room. “I get that you probably want privacy, but you don't really get that luxury in this world.”

“Why do you even care?” Nico grumbled as he sat down on his bed.

“I thought I was watching your back, like you're supposed to watch mine.”

As much as Nico wanted to be annoyed with the blond, he couldn't. The guy had saved him twice now. And while Nico was capable of taking care of himself, Nico probably would have died if Will hadn't stepped in those two times. Not to mention that he had actually called out for Will a moment ago. Nico's cheeks turned red at that thought.

Will let out a sigh, holding out a hand. Nico just quirked a brow at him. Rolling his eyes, Will moved over to Nico's bed and grabbed the boy's hand. “I need to look at your wound.”

Nico wanted to pull his hand away, but he didn't. His eyes became fixed on Will's face as the blond unwrapped the cloth that Nico had used to wrap around his injury. Those eyes were really breathtaking when Nico stared at them for too long. The pale blue color seemed to stand out more in the room's low lighting. Now that Nico was paying attention to them, Will did have a nice pair of lips. But none of this compared to the surge of heat that coursed through Nico's body from where Will touched him.

The blond let out a small hiss as he inspected the boy's hand. His eyes flickered up, which caused Nico's stomach to do a flip. How was anyone allowed to have eyes like that? A little too late, Nico realized the blond had said something.

“Um, what?”

Will smiled a little, which only made Nico's pulse quicken. “I said, you're going to need some stitches.” He was already off the bed before Nico could object.

Nico quickly scampered to the head of his bed when Will returned with a needle and thread. “And why should I let you? Do you even know how do do it?”

Will arched a brow, still smiling. He sat down and took Nico's hand again. “Well, I'd sure hope so, since I was in medical school.” He held up his index finger, signaling that he needed a minute. A second later, the blond returned with a bottle of rubbing alcohol and cotton ball. “I need to clean it first.” His eyes stared directly into Nico's brown ones, nearly paralyzing the boy. “This is going to sting, and the stitches are probably going to hurt. But I need you to stay as quiet as possible. Do you think you can do that for me?”

Nico gave a small nod.

Will smiled at him again and took Nico's hand. “I'd let you pull my hair to ease the pain, but I'm going to need you to use it to cover your mouth.” He waited until Nico had his only spare hand over his mouth before he opened the rubbing alcohol. “So, since it's getting colder, I thought we could try to find some blankets and warmer clothes tomorrow. There was a small city a few miles back, perhaps they have a mall.” He offered Nico a warm smile as Nico hissed from the slight sting in his hand. “And you could use some more clothes, so it would be a good idea to check out. And, now that there's two of us, some more food would be a good idea, too.”

“I'm sorry that I have to eat,” Nico mumbled, not looking up from the mattress. He winced as Will dabbed the cotton ball on his palm.

“I didn't mean it like that,” Will whispered. The blond sighed as he sat the cotton ball aside and picked up the needle. Nico gulped as he watched his traveling companion thread the needle. “I want you to eat. You look like you could use a few extra meals.”

Nico glared at the blond. “Shut up.”

Will smiled and took a firm grip on Nico's hand. He let out a breath. The blond made sure Nico was looking at him before he continued. “Remember, quiet. This is going to hurt.”

Nico quickly clenched his eyes shut the second the needle pierced his skin. His hand instantly shot up to cover his mouth, his breathing turning ragged. A panic filled his eyes as he watched Will, who was carefully watching his stitching. The blond's lips tilted down every time that Nico let out a yelp or a hiss.

“You're doing great,” Will said soothingly. Nico winced from another poke. “So, where are you from?”

Nico glared at the blond from behind his hand. Still, he knew the blond was trying to distract him from the pain. Taking in a sharp breath, Nico removed the hand from his mouth. “California.”

Will gave a small nod. “My dad used to take me there when I was younger. He wanted me to go to a university out there, but I decided not to.” The needle pierced Nico's skin again. “I grew up in Florida. My parents split when I was just a baby, and my parents decided they wanted to live on the other side of the country from each other. Di Angelo is a pretty name. Is your family Italian?”

Nico gave a small nod. He quickly bit his lip when another sharp pain shot through his hand. “I was born in Italy, but my parents moved over here when I was really little.”

“That's pretty cool.” Will gave him a small smile. Nico's cheeks turned hot as he realized Will was rubbing around his wound. The blond had finished up. He smiled when he noticed Nico staring. “I'll need to bandage it.” The blond pulled some gauze from a small bag that was on the other bed. As he wrapped the bandage around Nico's hand, his eyes flickered up. “So, have you been on your own this whole time?”

A dark look sparked in Nico's eyes as he stared back at the other boy. “I don't want to talk about it.”

“Sorry.” Will's lips tilted up into a small smile as he finished wrapping up Nico's hand. “It's just that...you're really guarded. I wish you would trust me.”

Nico really wanted to smash that lantern by his bed, so that Will wouldn't be able to see the blush in his cheeks. The blond idiot did not need to say things like that. Letting out a breath, Nico withdrew his hand from Will's grasp. “Thanks for fixing my hand.”

Will didn't comment on Nico's obvious change in subject. Instead, he just smiled and got off the bed. Nico pulled his legs up to his chest as Will put away his medical supplies. From there, the blond moved over to another bag and pulled out a few cans. With the smile still on his face, Will handed Nico a can of tuna and some lima beans.

The blond nodded to the food in Nico's hand. “I try to save the stuff like pasta for as long as possible, so we should try to eat what would expire the fastest.”

Nico wrinkled his nose at the tuna. “It's going to smell.”

Will chuckled a little. “Yes, but it'll expire in another year.” He took a seat on his own bed and pulled out a can of corn and another can of tuna. The blond gathered up a jug of water and handed Nico a metal cup. Nico watched the smile on the blond's face as water was poured into his cup. “You have really pretty eyes.”

Nico's eyes went wide, his entire face now red, as he gawked up at Will. “Do you even hear yourself talk?”

A chuckle escaped the blond's lips as he poured himself some water. “Anyways, if we can find any, we should get some vitamins and perhaps some Gatorade. Need to make sure we stay healthy and hydrated.” He glanced at his medical bag as he opened up his can of tuna. “I could also use some more medical supplies. We'll need some cough medicine to help through the winter. Don't need to make too much noise.”

\------------------------------------

Nico was startled awake during the middle of the night. He used to be impossible to wake up after falling asleep, but after all of this started, Nico couldn't afford to be a heavy sleeper. So, when he felt a slight increase in pressure on his body, the boy's eyes snapped open.

“What are you doing?” Nico mumbled groggily.

He could make out the outline of Will's form hovering over his bed. The body adjusted a new blanket over Nico's body. “You were shivering, so I thought you could use my blanket.” Even in the darkness, Nico could tell the blond was smiling. “I could also cuddle you. You know, for warmth.”

Sitting up a little, Nico rubbed his eyes. He glanced over at Will's bed. The blond only had the thin sheet that most motels put on their beds. Nico frowned down at his own bed. Now, on top of the sheets and comforter that he already had, Nico now had the comforter from Will's bed. A slight pang appeared in the boy's chest. “You—you didn't need to do that. I would have been fine.”

Will shrugged. Frowning and not about to accept this charity, Nico shot his arm out to grab the blond's arm. Warmth immediately coursed through Nico's hand, and he was even able to feel the blond's pulse. After being surrounded by things that practically counted as the living dead, it was incredible to actually feel someone's pulse. Slowly, Will's warmth spread its way throughout Nico's body.

Nico grabbed the comforter. “Take it back.”

Will tilted his head to the side. He shifted back over to Nico's bed, where he sat down on the edge. It was a little frustrating, not being able to see the blond properly. With the lantern off, there was absolutely no light in the room.

“But you're cold. I'll be fine.”

Nico tried to glare at the blond, but realized Will couldn't see him. “How did you even know I was cold? It's too dark to see anything.”

The bed shifted again, and Will's weight appeared beside Nico. The boy blushed as the blond propped his head up on his palm. “Your teeth were chattering, not to mention the fact that your bed was shaking slightly from your shivering.”

Nico went to shove the blond off his bed, only for his hand to come in contact with bare skin. Nico's eyes bulged. Will was shirtless. But it was very hard to draw his hand away due to the heat that radiated off of the blond's body. As nice as it probably would be to have that warmth next to him while he slept, Nico was not about to give the blond the satisfaction. He would never be able to get Will to stop smiling if that were to happen.

Will's head hit the pillow beside Nico. “I can sleep over here, if you want. I can stay on this side, and you can have that side. You just need to stay warm, and this way we can both have the covers.” Nico heard the blond move, but couldn't see anything. “I'm holding my hands up defensively.”

The raven-haired boy rolled his eyes. Will was a dork. Still, even with them a few inches apart, Nico could still feel the warmth from Will's body. “Fine,” Nico mumbled. He placed a hand on Will's warm chest. “But you stay over there.”

The bed shifted again and Nico heard the blond let out a content sigh. This could only spell trouble, Nico thought to himself. Biting down on his lip, Nico rubbed his upper arm.

Nico woke up, feeling colder than when he had went to sleep. Rolling onto his stomach, he realized he was alone in bed when his arm only met the mattress. Nico pushed himself up, quickly looking around the room. He was met by a smiling Will.

“Good morning,” the blond greeted him, a spoonful of peaches in his hand. At least the blond had the decency to put a shirt on now. But Will's hair was slightly disheveled, sticking up in places at the top.

He looked adorable.

Nico quickly bit his tongue. No, that was definitely not what he meant. Will was frustrating and far too cheerful for Nico's taste. He was still uncertain how the blond had managed to survive with his cheerfulness and trusting personality. People like that didn't last long, at least in Nico's experience.

The curtains had been drawn back, which made Nico squint and rub his eyes. It was times like this that Nico really wished he had coffee. Coffee would have been glorious right now. And if the sun weren't bad enough, Will's smile was also filling up the room. Seeing no alternative, Nico rolled over with a groan.

This didn't last long. The bed shifted and he felt Will's warm hand on his shoulder. “You need to get up, sunshine.”

Nico turned his head to glare at the blond. “Don't call me that.”

Will just grinned and stood up, stretching his arms above his head. “Whatever you say...angel.”

Nico's entire face turned red. He tried to form a glare, but his mouth kept floundering like a fish. “You—don't call me that either.”

“Too late, I think I like it.” Will chuckled and returned to his bag of food. He pulled out another can of fruit and tossed it at Nico, who caught it and held it in his lap. A second later, a can opener was handed to the brown-eyed boy. “Get washed up after you eat, we need to go into the city soon.” Will grabbed a jug of water and disappeared in the bathroom, probably to wash himself off.

After opening his can of fruit, Nico frowned down at the food. It wasn't that he wasn't hungry or didn't like it, but boy he didn't like this. By “this” he meant his interactions with Will. A guy like Will would never fall for someone like Nico, even if it was the end of the world. If this was some joke, Will had horrible timing. But even if Nico did have some sliver of a chance to get some physical contact with the blond, he didn't want it. Nico wasn't going to be someone's last pick, just because everyone else on the planet was dead.

Getting out at the mall was probably not the best idea. The town was dead silent, which meant that everything in a ten mile radius had probably heard the car. As Will shut off the engine, the two of them sat there and watched. There didn't seem to be any zombies coming, which only made Nico more nervous. This place was far too quiet. Towns and cities were never empty. But a lot of the city looked like a bomb had gone off, and there was even a crashed helicopter in the side of one of the buildings. When Nico heard Will open his door, the boy found it hard to move. This was not a good idea.

“You coming?” Will asked.

“I don't think we should go in there.”

Will smiled and nodded his head towards the mall. “It'll be fine. I parked the car right next to the door, just in case we need to make a quick getaway.” He slung his crossbow onto his arm and headed for the door. “Besides, you really need some clothes that fit, and we could both use some warmer clothing.”

The sight of the door to the mall broken really did not help Nico's nerves. Still, he followed after Will as the blond slipped inside. His fingers tightened around his gun, the boy's dark eyes shifting uneasily back and forth.

Will poked a dead body on the ground with his shoe. When the thing didn't move, he smiled at Nico. The raven-haired boy rolled his eyes and headed farther into the mall. The sooner they could get what they needed, the sooner they could leave. But where was everyone? The zombies, he meant, should be around, even if it was just a few. Sure, there were some corpses that carried the signs of the infected, but Nico had expected to run into a swarm of them.

After doing a quick sweep of the store that Nico had picked out, Will made his way back to the front of the store. “Will you be okay here for a few minutes?” He asked. Nico tilted his head to the side. “I'm just going to go looking for some other clothes, and perhaps some jackets.”

Nico rolled his eyes and nodded. The blond smiled again before he disappeared back into the mall. The primarily black theme of the store's clothing probably did not appeal to Will. And, yes, while times were rough and they didn't need to be picky, Nico doubted everything had been taken. Raiding the clothing stores did not seem to be on people's priorities during the initial outbreak of the virus. So, Nico just let out a sigh as he browsed through the store's selection.

Will returned nearly thirty minutes later with four shopping bags in his hands. He beamed as Nico stuffed his own clothing into a bag. “I hit the jackpot.” Will held up the two bags in his left hand. “I found the sporting goods store, so I managed to find some survival supplies. I also got us some jackets for different temperatures, and I even managed to get a few blankets.”

The bags were stuffed, but Nico wasn't about to complain. In the apocalypse, nobody complained about getting too much. Money was no longer an issue, and people would take what they could get. He finished stuffing his bags with jeans and shirts before walking over to where Will stood at the entrance.

“Can we go now?” Nico mumbled.

The corner of Will's lips tilted up. “Almost. I do want to search for some food and medical supplies.” He nodded his head for them to walk, and the two headed for the car. “I saw a hospital on the way here, so perhaps we'll try there first.”

Nico's stomach sank. A hospital? He had seen enough horror movies to know that abandoned hospitals were creepy as shit. “Um, how about we don't?”

Will just beamed over at him as they stuffed their bags into the trunk. “Come on, Nico, I'll protect you from the scary hospital.”

Nico narrowed his eyes and climbed into the car. “Keep talking, and you'll wake up alone and without a car.” He let out a sigh. “And it's not the hospital that makes me not want to go, it's what could be inside of it.”

Normally, hospitals were supposed to make people feel safe. Not this one. The sight of it was probably the most disturbing thing in the city. A lot of the windows had been busted out, and a large portion of the back of it had been blown out. Perhaps a bomb really had gone off here. There was even a tank outside, surrounded by about fifty cars.

There were three zombies in the main lobby, which Will and Nico quietly disposed of. Nico's nerves crumpled as he walked across some broken glass on the floor. They did not need to be here, no matter if there was supplies here. This place gave Nico the creeps.

Noticing this, Will placed a hand on Nico's shoulder. “I can do a quick sweep for supplies, if you'd rather wait here.” He held out the keys to their motel room. “Run to the car if things get out of hand.”

Nico's brow furrowed. With a frown, the boy snatched the key from the blond's grasp. “I'll be fine. Let's just get what we need and get out of here.”

Will just smiled and pocketed the keys. He took the crossbow off his shoulder, making his way up the stairs. He motioned down the hall on the first floor, signaling for Nico to check it out. Perhaps splitting up wasn't the best idea, but it would be faster.

Goosebumps spread across Nico's arms each time glass crunched beneath his feet. In one hand, Nico pointed his gun ahead of himself, his knife in the other hand. There were a few rooms that Nico stumbled across bodies, which slowed him down. The sight of the dead twisted his gut, memories of a simpler time almost lost to his memories.

The patients here probably were not in any condition to escape when the infected swept through. Nico shook his head, his gaze lowered. No one deserved to die like this. A lot of the bodies had been eaten too much to reanimate, or perhaps someone was kind enough to come along and spare the poor souls an eternity as a walking corpse.

Eventually, Nico came to a stop in front of double doors. Heavy chains had been placed around them, and a large plank was also inserted through the door handles. In bright red paint, it read: DO NOT OPEN!

Nico's skin began to crawl as he heard the faint sound of shuffling feet behind the door. His grip instinctively tightened around his gun. He had to wonder how many were in there. Not enough to actually open the doors, but perhaps it would explain the lack of zombies running around. Nico's brow furrowed as he looked around the hallway. Had people tried to survive in this hospital? The infected were attracted the the uninfected above all else, and to get a large number of zombies, there would need to be several uninfected in the vicinity.

“Nico!”

The boy scrambled backwards as force made contact with the sealed doors. Clawing and growls could now be heard from the other side. The doors jerked back and forth, as if something were trying to break out. Nico gulped as the doors opened a little and a sickly pale hand reached out towards him. He half debated shooting inside, but ammo was precious these days. Cursing under his breath, he jogged off to find Will.

The blond was hunched over a desk on the upper floor. He looked up as Nico approached, smiling a little. “Hey,” the blond greeted him.

Nico narrowed his eyes. “Could you not yell?” The boy hissed. He pointed downstairs. “There are infected locked up down there.”

Will blinked in surprise. “Sorry.” But the blond's smile didn't waver. He quickly moved aside and picked up a plastic box from the floor. “Look.”

The thing had been filled the brim with emergency food. Beside where the blond stood was also a smaller box that had been filled with an assortment of medicine and medical supplies. Nico gave the blond a dull look. Will looked rather childish at the moment, like a kid on Christmas morning. Though, once the blond looked away, Nico couldn't help but smile a little. It was contagious!

“Oh,” Will continued, moving to a wall behind the desk. “Come here.”

Nico let out a sigh. What else had Will found? If it was a dog, Nico hated to break it to the blond, but they couldn't take care of one. Though, whatever Will had found was not the first thing that drew Nico's attention.

Bodies of hospital staff and civilians alike littered the floor. Nico's eyes darted over to an open door, where only more bodies could be found. Well, Nico thought, that explained what drew the attention of all those zombies. Some of the bodies were even piled on top of each other. Even more sickening, random body parts were scattered along the floor between Nico and Will.

When Nico didn't come over, Will turned to look for him. He quickly noticed Nico's hesitation and offered the boy his hand. “Come over here, it's not so bad.”

That wasn't entirely true. There were two bodies of people that had tried to hide underneath the desk. “Can we just go?” Nico whispered.

Will gave him a sympathetic smile as Nico accepted the blond's hand. The older boy helped him over to the wall, where a map of the United States had been pinned to the wall. Will placed a hand on Nico's shoulder. “Don't worry, I checked all of the bodies.” He nodded over to a body where Nico had stood a moment ago. “A few of them were still moving around, but I put them down. I guess some of the people in this city tried to hold out here.”

“Didn't seem to go that well for them.”

“Yeah,” Will agreed. He pointed to the map. “Look, there's some spots marked.”

Sure enough, there were two big red marks on the map. One circled a spot not far from New York City, while the other was close to San Francisco. There were a few question marks also drawn on the map, as well as a few question marks that had been crossed out.

Will's finger moved along the surface of the map. “I think they were marking quarantine areas.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “I doubt any of this is legit.” He turned an annoyed look on his traveling companion. “New York City is massive. What chances would any place near there have of keeping the infected out?”

Will just shrugged, leaning slightly against Nico. The shorter boy noticed, his cheeks tinging pink, but didn't say anything about it. “It's still a chance.” Will used both of his hands to point to the two places that had been circled. “We should check these out, just to make sure.” With a lazy smile, the blond ripped the map off of the wall and folded it up.

“You want to drive across the country, just the check out a rumor?” Nico crossed his arms and shook his head. “That's way too much gas to go from one side of the country to the other.”

Will let out a sigh. “We're in the middle of the country right now.” He shrugged, biting down on his lip. “What if we picked one and checked it out?”

Nico's hand clamped down on his upper arm. “I don't want to go. This is stupid.” He huffed and went to walk out from behind the desk, but Will grabbed his arm. “What?” Nico asked, turning around in annoyance.

“What's wrong with you?” Will's eyes stared back at him in concern. “If either of these places is legit, we could have a place to live in semi-normalcy. How could you not want that?”

“Because, there isn't anywhere safe!” Nico finally yelled, his fists clenched at his sides. “Stop being so fucking optimistic, when there isn't any reason to be.”

Nico glared at the blond in front of him before turning around and walking away. He picked up one the boxes Will had found, his eyes flickering up to look at the blond. Will looked rather hurt, a deep sadness in his eyes. His eyes swept over to where Nico stood. Nico just rolled his eyes and turned towards the stairs.

The second Nico's foot came in contact with the first step, he froze.

A chill ran down his spine as the sound of broken glass echoed through the corridor behind him. He slowly turned around to look at Will, who was staring down the corridor the noise had come from. In the distance, Nico could make out the sound of bare feet hitting the tiled floor of the hospital. As if they didn't already know what was heading towards them, an angry cry pierced their ears.

“Shit,” Will hissed, quickly pocketing the map and picking up the other box. He jumped over the bodies and ran towards Nico. The two scrambled down the stairs, and they almost made it the entire way, but Will tripped on one of the last steps. The blond yelped and tumbled across the ground, his elbow hitting the last step. The box slid across the floor, scattering most of its contents.

Nico pursed his lips as he looked between Will and the car. His face paled as four of the infected came barreling down the stairs. The door was right there, Nico thought to himself. He could just run and get in the car. As sick as it was, the zombies would stop to eat the fallen blond in front of them, while Nico made his getaway. Nico did have the motel key.

One of the infected leaped from the stairs and landed on top of Will. “Nico, help!” The blond yelled.

Nico just stood there, frozen. Get to the car, his brain kept screaming at him. It would be better this way. After all, Will would just slow him down. They all die in the end anyways.

But then those blue eyes were staring up at him with panic. Cursing under his breath, Nico dropped his box and ran over to Will. Pulling his gun out of his back pocket, Nico fired off a round in the center of the zombie's head. Will scrambled up, making a wild grab for his box of supplies. Nico fired off two more shots as he jerked the box he had just sat down back into his arms. Now that Will was back on his feet, the two bolted out of the hospital.

Once at the car, Nico crawled in and reached under the steering wheel. As Will covered him with his own gun, Nico worked on getting the car started. Nico screamed when a hand clamped down on his leg. Clenching his teeth, Nico looked behind him and shot the zombie holding him in the head. Unfortunately, this also gave Nico a view of the hospital. There were definitely a lot more than four coming at the car at the moment.

“Nico, hurry!”

Pursing his lips, Nico managed to get the car cranked before he tossed his box into the backseat. Will opened his door and tossed the box he had been carrying at Nico. He took a firm grip on the steering wheel and shifted gears. Nico jumped away from his door as two zombies crashed against his window.

As if their gunshots had set off a chain reaction, the city had come alive. Zombies poured out of buildings left and right. Will ran over a few on his way out of the city, not even bothering to slow down. Nico nearly jumped when something squeezed his hand.

He looked down, only to realize he had grabbed Will when the zombies had smashed against his door. The blond had a small smile on his face as he gave Nico's hand a squeeze. If things had been less crazy right now, Nico probably would have said something rude and ripped his hand away. But right now... Right now, Nico just needed some solid confirmation that they had both gotten out of there unharmed. Letting out a breath, Nico slid down in his seat, his fingers still intertwined with Will's.

Once they were back safely in the motel room, Will sat down next to Nico on his bed. He smiled over at Nico before he spoke. “Thank you.”

“For what?” Nico grumbled, poking around in the box he had been carrying.

“For saving me.” The blond shifted a little closer. “You could have ran, but you didn't. I owe.”

“You don't.” Nico brushed some hair out of his eyes. “It's not like you didn't help me out already. Just returning the favor. Besides, you said I'm supposed to watch your back.”

Will's smile was almost endearing as he stared at Nico from behind his blond bangs. Nico's heartbeat quickened. “Still, you didn't have to do it.”

Nico rolled his eyes, shoving the blond away from him. “Yeah, well, count yourself lucky. You dropped some of our supplies back there.”

That stupid smile wouldn't go away. Nico's eyes grew wide as Will lifted up his shirt, revealing a lean torso to Nico's eyes. The raven-haired boy fought back a gulp as his eyes raked over the lightly tanned skin. It was smooth and carried no trace of body hair.

“Wh-what are you doing?” Nico fumbled.

The blond blinked at him. “Showing you that I didn't get bitten.” And, to Nico's horror, the blond unzipped his pants and showed his upper thighs to Nico. Once that was done, he pulled up the legs of his pants. “See, I didn't get bitten.”

Nico grabbed the hem of Will's jeans and pulled the denim down. “You don't have to show me, I believe you.” His brow furrowed. “And it's not like you checked me.”

Will grinned a little. “Is that an invitation to get you out of your clothes?” He asked mischievously.

With a stern look, Nico pushed against Will's head until the blond was off of his bed. “No, now leave me alone for a while.” Closing his eyes, Nico laid down. “I need a moment, my nerves are still shot.”

“Then, can we at least talk about the map?”

Nico grunted and rolled onto his side. He opened his eyes with all intentions of glaring at the blond, though that didn't last long. Will sat cross-legged on his bed, blinking innocently at Nico. The raven-haired boy's stomach did a small flip. Why did he have to be traveling with someone that looked like that? Will was, or seemed like, everything Nico could probably want. But there was no way Will meant any of this flirting seriously. Even if he did, the blond was probably using Nico as a last resort, since there wasn't anyone else around.

Here was how Nico saw it. If he played along with Will's little game and got physical with the blond, Will would eventually toss Nico to the side if either of those places on the map turned out to be legit. He would forget about Nico and move on to someone else. Probably some pretty girl that somehow miraculously survived.

“I don't really care,” Nico sighed. “You're the driver, you decide.” Nico rolled over, turning his back to the blond. “Just don't drag me along for nothing.”

There was definitely more that Nico meant to that, but he doubted Will caught it. His eyes were dull as they stared at the wall. No matter which place they went to, the trip was going to feel like an eternity to Nico. The bed shifted behind Nico. Letting out a sigh, Nico rolled over to face the blond.

“Here,” Will said cheerfully, handing Nico a can of Spam and bottle of Gatorade that had probably come from the hospital. Nico slowly reached out and took both of them, not wanting to meet the blond's gaze. Will continued to smile. He got off the bed and got his own food, though he also grabbed a can of fruit. He sat back down on Nico's bed and put the fruit between the two of them. “We should probably leave tomorrow.”

“I guess,” Nico muttered. His eyes briefly glanced at the blond next to him. Why did Will have to be so nice? “But we need a destination.”

Will slowly nodded. “I'll sleep on it.” He speared a chunk of pear from the can and put it in his mouth. “I guess I don't have to keep you warm tonight, since we have more blankets.”

As much as Nico hated to admit it, he felt a little disappointed with that. The fact that Will was currently only a few inches away from him did not help matters at all. As he watched the blond eat his food, Nico was not going to be on a fun journey. You know, not including the zombies that were bound to attack them along the way. But what was a little heartbreak along the way, right?


	3. Alone In This Storm

On the fifth night since he met Will, Nico was not afforded the luxury of warm bed. Or a bed at all, really. Instead, the trunk of a car served as their bed. Nico had originally felt victorious over the fact that he got to sleep next to where the backseat pulled down into the trunk. That was until he realized that Will was probably afraid the trunk might open in the middle of the night. Stupid jerk.

Unfortunately, the reliability of the lock on the trunk was being put to the test at the moment. When Nico woke up, his eyes were met with darkness. He shifted the small blanket that he had placed to separate the opening into the rest of the car. He did not like what he saw at all.

There was a herd of infected passing their car by, or at least most were. A few seemed to be poking around. The boy gulped as one of them clawed at the driver side window. The feeling of warmth caught Nico's attention as he jerked his head to his other side.

He and Will were cramped together in the trunk, their supplies stored in the front of their car. The trunk was obviously not big enough for them to have the luxury of sleeping apart, so Nico was not surprised when he found that their legs were tangled up. Biting down on his lip, Nico stared up at the trunk. He did not like being so close to those things. There were far too many of them nearby to have any hope of survival. So if they were discovered...

Nico didn't even want to think about it.

In the darkness, Nico felt a warm hand press against his cheek. This nearly caused him to jerk, but the hand quickly grabbed him to keep the car from shaking. “It's just me,” Will whispered next to him. “Calm down.”

“Those things are out there.”

“I know.” Will pulled Nico closer to him. The raven-haired boy's head was pressed to the blond's chest. The sound of the older boy's heartbeat slowly became the only sound that Nico heard. “It'll be okay. You need to get some sleep.”

Nico pressed his lips together. He really did not want to sleep. He also did not want to be on this journey they currently were on. Two days ago, Will had decided that they would try for the refugee camp near New York City. However, when they crossed into a new state the next day, the two quickly discovered that they were going in the wrong direction. Without a map or GPS, neither of them had any idea of where they were going. And the map that Will had found offered little help, as it did not contain any roads on it.

Earlier that day, Will had suggested that they try to find a map, which Nico quickly shot down. It was too soon after the hospital disaster to go putting themselves in danger again. There was no telling if they could even find a map. Since Nico had never really looked for one after the outbreak, he had no idea if they could find any in a store. Without a GPS, a map would be the only way for people to get good navigation.

Nico let out a sigh as he felt fingers caress his hair. He hated those things out there. The boy tried to pay as little attention to them as possible, it only hurt more when he looked at them in the face. The only comfort in the whole thing was that his sister would never be one of those things. His fingers tightened in Will's shirt. It had to be done, Nico knew that now, but there was still resentment inside of him. It was why he ran. Well, part of the reason.

As if he could sense Nico's pain, the idiot next to him decided to ask the worst question. “Tell me more about yourself. Do you have any siblings?”

Nico tried to shove Will away, but that didn't work out very well. “Don't,” Nico hissed.

“I'm sorry. I-” The blond let out a sigh before he shifted back towards Nico. The raven-haired boy frowned as the blond pulled him closer again, but did not shove him away. “I didn't mean to upset you.” Those warm fingers returned to Nico's hair. “I didn't have any siblings, unfortunately. Lots of cousins, just no brothers or sisters.”

If Will could see him, Nico would give the blond a very irritated look. Was this really the time to talk about things like this? The car got bumped, which caused Nico to flinch and go rigid. His breathing had turned ragged, though the boy failed to notice it until Will placed a hand on his chest.

“Just humor me, okay?” Will whispered, as if he could hear what Nico was thinking.

He was doing it again, just like the other night when Will stitched up Nico's hand. The blond had a way of distracting Nico from what was bothering the boy at the moment. The most frustrating part was that it worked.

Nico let out a sigh. “My sister and I used to go to a summer camp around New York. At least for a year anyways.”

Will still stroked Nico's hair. “What was her name?”

“Bianca.”

There was a slight pause from the blond's hand. “Wait, so you lived in California, but you went to a summer camp near New York? Was your family loaded?” When Nico failed to answer, Will seemed to get the hint. “I see. Um, well that's cool. I bet you had a nice house.”

“It felt too big,” Nico whispered. A loud bang against the window caused Nico to flinch.

Will's arms only wrapped tighter around the boy in his arms. “So, can you surf?”

Nico wanted to look up at Will and ask if he was serious, but it was too dark. “No, I could barely even swim.”

Even in the dark, Nico knew that the blond was smiling. It only served to irritate him. “That's cute,” Will said. Nico punched him in the chest. “Well, maybe we should have gone to the San Francisco camp, then I could have taught you to surf.”

“You know how to surf?” Of course Will did. While the blond wasn't that muscular, he had some abs and he practically radiated a beach vibe. Abs that were right beneath Nico's hand. “How did you even survive all this time anyways? You're far too happy to not be screwed up in this world.”

Some of Will's breath hit Nico's forehead, letting the brown-eyed boy know that the blond was laughing. “Just lucky, I guess. Um, some people found me not long after the entire planet went dark.” Will let out a breath. “This man...his daughter got hurt. Luckily, it wasn't from a bite, though. But I offered to fix her up, and they offered me a spot in their group.”

Nico's brow furrowed as his head relaxed against the blond's chest. “But you're not with them now.”

“No,” Will whispered, “I'm not.”

Nico blinked when he heard nothing but silence. He turned his head away from Will, glancing past the blanket that had been set up behind him. Everything seemed calm. Wherever those things were headed, at least they were gone. Nico relaxed against Will, the sound of the blond's heartbeat slowly putting him to sleep.

When he awoke, Nico was on his side. His entire body ached from the cramped trunk that he had slept in, yet Nico was unable to actually stretch due to still being in said trunk. However, when he went to check and see if the zombies were gone, the boy found an arm around his waist. There was a soft puff of breath against his neck, which caused him to gulp. Slowly, Nico rolled his head to the side to look at the blond behind him.

Will was still asleep, his eyes shut softly. Some of his blond bangs hung over his left eye, while his mouth was slightly ajar. Their legs were heavily tangled together as well. It was then that Nico realized that he had been staring at the blond for far too long. He went to climb into the backseat, but Will's arm tightened around his waist.

“Where are you going?” Will mumbled groggily.

“We need to get moving.” Nico winced and rubbed his throat. It felt sore. Probably just dry, Nico thought to himself.

Will's arm did not budge from around Nico. The blond merely nuzzled against Nico's neck and let out a sigh. “Or we could get some more sleep. I'm fine with staying like this.”

This was most certainly not okay. Being this close to Will was not okay, not this early in the morning. It was far too early—and Nico was unable to have coffee—to look at the blond's face. Not only that, but as a guy, mornings came with another problem.

That problem was currently pressed up against Nico's butt. It was probably sad to say, but this was about as much intimate contact with a guy that Nico had ever experienced. It would be nice, and Nico might actually go back to sleep, if any of this was real. Nico was still convinced that Will was just doing this because there weren't any other options around.

With that thought filling his brain, Nico struggled out of the blond's grasp and into the front seat. A sigh could be heard from behind him. Will rubbed at his eyes and climbed out after Nico. The two stored their supplies back into the trunk before climbing into the car.

\----------------------------------

“You can't be serious,” Nico hissed. He wanted to punch Will, but the blond's smile made it too hard to harbor anger. But Nico had decided the blond must be suicidal. There was no way he was seriously considering this.

“It'll be fine, I promise.” The two stood at the side of the interstate, overlooking St. Louis, Missouri. Will smiled over at Nico, who drummed his fingers against the barrier in annoyance. “We really need an atlas, and there are sure to be more supplies there. Plus, we really could use some more ammo.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Yes, there's a reason for that. Cities are crawling with the infected. Bigger cities were the ones reported first during the early days of the infection. Everywhere in the world, Will.” The boy narrowed his gaze at the taller boy beside him. “I'd rather not die.”

The blond nudged his shoulder gently. “You'll be fine, I promise. We won't stay there that long. His brow furrowed as he turned back to look at the car. “And, um, we sort of need to change the oil in the car.”

Of course, Nico thought. There always had to be a bump in the road. His brown eyes scanned the city. They weren't that high up, so Nico was able to spot plenty of the things they were trying to avoid. He blew out a breath. There was more of things in his sight than he had seen in quite some time. This was why Nico tried to avoid cities at all costs. But if their car broke down...

“Could it survive a little while longer?” Nico asked.

Will slowly shook his head. “I wouldn't want to chance it. And I'd rather not have to walk the rest of the way.” The blond offered Nico a small smile. “It'll be real quick, I promise.”

Nico walked away from the barrier, heading back to the car. “I'd rather be safe, so let's just take it slow and cautious.” As he was about to get into the car, the boy stopped. “But how are you going to change the oil?”

“Obviously not in the city.” Will climbed into the car. “I'll find the oil and I can change it out once we are outside the city.” He let out a breath. “Meanwhile, I need to figure out where I can find some.”

Not the easiest task in a large city. The two ended up inside a condo close to the river—not Nico's decision. The blond beamed as he threw his bags onto the couch before plopping down beside them. Nico just rolled his eyes and walked over to the large glass windows that covered the majority of the back wall. He would admit that the place was very nice, but they did not need to consider staying here longer than they needed.

“We can look around first thing in the morning,” Will called out as Nico explored down the hall.

The place was clean, possibly not having been used right before the outbreak. Unfortunately, there was nothing stocked in the kitchen. It even had a small balcony on the outside of the large glass windows. It would have all been very nice, if times were different.

At least there was two bedrooms.

Once he was back in the living room, Nico kicked Will's foot. “The sun is still up, we should try to look around the neighborhood.”

Will pouted, but didn't argue. He huffed and got off the couch, grabbing the keys from where they had been tossed. Will handed Nico a key to the condo before they headed out the door. Nico really did not want to go out there, but he really wanted to leave as soon as possible. He knew that it probably wouldn't be tonight, but the boy did not want to be there for more than a day or two. The longer they stayed, the greater the chance that they might draw the attention of the zombies to their location. The last thing he wanted was to wake up with the entire building surrounded.

Unfortunately, they couldn't use the car. It would only draw more attention. It was bad enough having to pull up to the condo in the thing, though Will had parked it to the side of the building. Not that it really helped with the noise that it had caused.

This also meant that neither of them had any barrier between them and the zombies, which meant that Will and Nico could not talk. Which was fine by Nico. The two quietly made their way through the city, stopping every now and then to look into a building that they thought might have something they needed. Sadly, a lot of the buildings had been ransacked.

Will looked annoyed after the eighth store they checked. “Can't people leave things for other people needing aid?”

Nico rolled his eyes and kicked an empty box across the store's floor. “If it's any consolation, they are probably dead by now.” He gave a shrug. “Actually, that just means all those supplies aren't being put to use. They are just sitting wherever they were left.”

“Not helping,” Will grumbled. The blond scrunched his lips as he observed Nico. “That's pretty dark, you know.”

Nico just shrugged in response, slipping his hands into his jacket. He really didn't care. It was the truth, regardless of what Will wanted to believe. It was because of the chaos that most of the world ended up infected. The panic let the infected spread throughout the world and bite just about everyone. Before too long, it was too late for anything to be done. The world had fallen, and those that managed to remain uninfected struggled to survive because of the failures of those that didn't make it. Because doctors and the different governments around the world had failed.

The pair returned to the streets empty-handed. It seemed a little odd to Nico that they hadn't really encountered any infected. The few that he saw didn't seem to notice them. But he had seen a lot earlier, but the city seemed relatively vacant.

And then came the scream.

This one did not cause Nico's blood to run cold, but he did stop and look around. This was human. Or, still uninfected, rather. Nico doubted the person would be that way for much longer. He arched a brow as Will grabbed his arm and moved towards the scream.

“Um, what are you doing?” Nico asked, pulling his arm away.

The screams were from a woman, who was now yelling for help. Nico quietly wondered if she had heard their car. This explained why there was a serious lack of infected roaming the city. More than likely, they were all chasing after the screaming woman.

Will gave him an incredulous look. “Um, helping her? She's still alive, Nico.”

“For how much longer?” The boy arched his brow. “She's going to die, Will. What if she's already been bit? That's what most people did when the outbreak first happened. They just wanted away from the zombies, but didn't consider the bite on their arm or leg.”

Will pulled his crossbow off of his shoulder. “I came to help you.”

“I wasn't bitten.”

“You don't know that she is.”

Nico shook his head in disbelief. “We don't even know where she is.” He waved around them. “This city is huge, there's no telling where she is. Not to mention that she's running around. Most likely with a hoard of zombies, might I add.”

Will's brow furrowed, his smile long gone. “So, you just want to leave her to die? We could at least put her out of her misery, if nothing else.”

“Sure, while those zombies just patiently wait around and let us. I'm sure they'd understand.”

Will let out a huff. “Are you even serious right now? Are you listening to yourself?”

Nico rolled his eyes and walked across the street. Before he could get to the other sidewalk, Will had a death grip on his wrist. “What?” The raven-haired boy asked in a bored tone. The blond narrowed his gaze. “Look, those things are distracted right now. We can use this time to look around without too much concern.”

The blond's hand fell from Nico's wrist. Not that he would admit it, but Nico felt significantly colder when Will let go of him. “Did you just hear yourself?” Will practically whispered. “You're wanting to use her as a distraction.”

The two looked up into the air when they heard a final scream. Everything was quiet after that. Nico shrugged. “Well, looks like that settles the issue. No point in looking for her now.”

Will pursed his lips, but said nothing else. However, Nico did not miss the disappointment in the blond's eyes when he looked at Nico. Surprisingly, that stung a little. But it did not change the fact that they were wasting time with all of this. They had a window of opportunity, and Nico wasn't going to just blow it.

Unfortunately, they weren't even able to make it another block before they encountered another problem. Before he could cover his mouth, Nico coughed. The boy cleared his throat, which stung slightly. He coughed again, but this time Nico was able to cover his mouth.

Will was next to him before Nico even realized it. The blond grasped the raven-haired boy's arm and placed a hand on his forehead. Nico narrowed his eyes and smacked the blond's hand away. “What are you doing?” The brown-eyed boy asked.

Will pressed the back of his hand against Nico's cheek. “You're a little warm.”

“So?” Nico coughed again, his nose running slightly. He let out a sigh. This was not happening. Getting sick was not an option. “I'm fine.”

Not convinced, Will grabbed Nico's chin and tilted his head back. “Open your mouth.” Nico just arched a brow at the blond's request. Will let out a sigh. “Just do it.” Rolling his eyes, Nico did as he was told. “I think you're getting a cold. Nothing to worry about, but you probably shouldn't be out here if you're going to cough.”

“I'll be fine.”

But Will wasn't going to accept that. He grabbed Nico's wrist and turned them back around. “We'll go back to the condo, see if we can find some Sprites on the way. That should help, since your throat looked a little sore. We'll give you some cough medicine, and I'll let you rest while I look for the oil.”

Nico jerked his hand away. “Um, no. You're not going to go running around this city by yourself.”

When he turned around, Will was smiling. “If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're worried about me.”

Nico narrowed his eyes, though there was now a blush threatening to cover his cheeks. “Don't be stupid. I'll be fine.”

Will only smiled more. “I'm sure you will be, if we take care of you now.” The blond grabbed Nico's arm again. “Come on, let's get you some rest.”

“But those things we be roaming the city again soon. We should make use of-”

“No.” Will let out a sigh. “Unless you want to become a distraction yourself for anyone else alive in the city, I'd suggest you not be out on the streets with that cough.”

Once they were back at the condo, Will shoved Nico into bed. The boy grumbled, not appreciating being treated like a child. And he let the blond know this with a dark glare when Will returned with a can of Sprite that they had found on the way back. The liquid did help his throat, not that Nico would let the blond know that he appreciated it. That stupid smile was already annoying enough.

When he was halfway finished with the drink, Nico sat it between his legs. “Will, this is stupid. We're wasting time just sitting around here.”

“But we need to keep you from getting sick.”

“But-”

“I'm going to see if there is anything in this building that we can use to heat you up some soup.”

Nico gaped at the blond as he left the room. With a groan, Nico fell back against his pillow. His lips pressed together as he stared down at the can between his legs. Why did Will have to be so nice? Nico did not need to have a crush on the guy, this wasn't the time. And it wasn't like it really mattered anyways. Nico let out a sigh and closed his eyes. New York or California, neither really mattered. Nico had no intention of stepping foot into a refugee camp. They wouldn't allow it. With his lips pursed tightly, Nico ran a hand under the sleeve of his left arm and traced the faint outline of his scar.

He hadn't survived this long to get shot on sight.

\-----------------------

When Nico woke up the next morning, he was greeted by a loud pounding against the bedroom window. It only got louder, which caused Nico to practically jump out of bed. The boy coughed and glanced over at the window.

Everything was practically white. Furrowing his brow, the boy walked over to look out the window. It was pouring rain so hard that Nico was barely able to see the buildings across the street. Hail hit the window, which made Nico nervous that it might break. Coughing again, Nico clutched his throat. His throat hurt worse today and he still felt tired.

Nico opened his door and walked out into the living room. Will wasn't there. The boy frowned and went to knock on the blond's door. No answer. That idiot better be asleep, Nico thought. He slowly pushed the door open.

The bed was empty and Will's crossbow was nowhere to be found. The blond's things were still there, which meant that the idiot had gone into the city without Nico. And now he was trapped out in the storm! Pursing his lips, Nico practically slammed Will's door and stomped into the living room.

He walked over to the large glass windows, rubbing his arms. It was impossible to see very far out there. Will better not be stupid enough to run around in this. Those zombies wouldn't probably be bothered by the storm, which meant they would find Will easy prey. Nico rubbed at his neck, fighting back another string of coughs.

As he sat down on the couch, Nico eyed Will's shotgun, which was on the table. He half debated going to find Will, but Nico doubted he would be able to find the idiot. The city was already big enough, a storm would only make it more difficult. Nico pulled his legs up to his chest, draping a blanket across his lap. The boy let out a groan as he glanced out the window again.

Nico felt helpless, which was the worst feeling. He hated feeling trapped here. But why should it matter? Nico had said it himself, Will would die eventually. Everyone died. Everyone would eventually die to this plague. Why did he have to be concerned if Will was safe out there?

The brown-eyed boy flinched as thunder rang out like an explosion in the distance. Nico buried his head in between his knees. He had never been a fan of storms, not after he had lost his mother. Regardless of Will made it back or not, Nico was trapped here until the storm had passed.

After an hour, Nico had started to pace in front of the glass windows. This was torture. Will hadn't even left a note to let Nico know that he would be gone. Probably because he knew Nico would object to Will going anywhere at all without him. The storm had also not let up any. At least the hail had stopped, though. Nico had drank most of the Sprites from the box Will had acquired yesterday, mostly due to a mixture of anxiety and his sore throat. Still no sign of Will.

And it really irritated Nico that he was worried that Will might not make it back. As much as he hated to admit it, Nico had sort of gotten used to the blond's company. Yes, Will could be annoying, but it was sort of nice to not be stuck in total silence all the time, or at least have someone to talk to. Until they found a refugee camp anyways. He could at least accompany Will the majority of the way there, even if he didn't really plan on staying at one.

What if they found it?

Would Will let them just kill him without an explanation? Would Will even get the chance?

After another two hours, Nico was about to lose him mind when the door opened. Will slipped inside, locking the door behind him. He was completely soaked, carrying container of oil in his hand. The blond beamed when he spotted Nico in the room.

Shooting off the couch, Nico crossed the room and shoved Will against the door. “What the hell were you thinking, Solace? Are you trying to get yourself killed?” The boy only shoved the blond against the door again when Will tried to open his mouth. “You're an idiot! And you left me here, alone, during a severe storm!”

The blond continued to smile, pushing his wet bangs aside. He put the oil down on the table before wrapping his arms around Nico. The shorter boy stiffened in his arms. “Were you worried about me?” The blond chuckled.

“Don't be ridiculous!” Nico practically screeched, pushing the blond away.

Will stripped himself of the jacket he wore. “I didn't realize it was going to get this bad. I thought I could get back before it started.”

“Well, obviously you couldn't.” Nico punched the blond in the shoulder. “You idiot!”

When Nico went to hit him again, Will caught his wrist and pulled Nico against his chest. The raven-haired boy blushed as Will nuzzled against his neck. He was so caught up with what Will was doing to his neck that Nico failed to notice Will leading him towards the couch. Nico fell backwards, Will landing on top of him.

Will smiled down at him. Nico's eyes widened as Will leaned down towards him. Right before their lips met, Nico shoved the blond off of him. Will yelped as he landed on the floor. Nico sat up with wide eyes. “Wh-what do you think you're doing?”

Will frowned up from the floor. “Well, I thought I was being romantic, but that didn't seem to go over well.”

Nico scoffed. “I don't know what game you are playing, but I will not be a part of it,” the boy grumbled. Will looked surprised. The blond opened his mouth, but Nico shoved the older boy's face. “You're soaking wet. I don't appreciate you getting me wet because you thought it would be a good idea to venture out into a storm.”

Will smirked up at him. That damn smile was going to be the end of Nico. The blond left the room, only to return a few minutes later in a pair of sweat pants and a towel over his hair. Will rubbed at his hair, while Nico found himself distracted by Will's lack of a shirt.

“At least I found some oil,” Will pointed out after a few minutes of silence. Still shirtless, he bent down in front of Nico, who was still on the couch. “Are you feeling any better?”

Nico was fairly certain that his cheeks were red. It was not fair to have someone so attractive standing in front of him and shirtless. And the fact that Will was concerned for Nico only made it worse. Nico let out a sigh and batted Will's hand away. “My throat still hurts and I'm still coughing, but I'll live.”

Will smiled and ruffled Nico's hair. “I guess we're stuck here at least until tomorrow, unless it keeps raining.” He tilted his head to the side. “Though, if you stay sick, we might consider staying a few extra days.”

“I'd rather not. I'm not going to slow us down.”

Will sat down on the couch, letting the towel hang across his shoulder. “We'll be fine. But it wouldn't be very safe for us to be travel while you're sick. What if we have to sleep in the trunk again and you start coughing?”

Nico narrowed his eyes, putting some distance in between the two of them. “Then maybe you should just go on without me.”

Will's eyes widened. “I didn't mean it like that, Nico. I wouldn't leave you behind.” He offered the other boy a small smile. “We'll make it to New York together.”

Nico brought his legs onto the couch and sat cross-legged. His eyes dulled as he stared down at the floor. He wasn't sure if he could make it through this trip. Will was far too nice, and Nico probably couldn't resist the entire trip. If the blond was going to use him, Nico wasn't sure he could keep pushing Will away.

Typical, Nico thought, he always fell for the guy that was attractive and overly nice guys. And here he was, thinking about running again. It seemed to be his solution to guys like Will. But perhaps it was for the best. Will would survive without Nico. He'd get to the refugee camp and find someone. Someone better.

Nico was pulled from his thoughts when he felt warm fingers intertwine with his own. Looking down, he found that Will had reached over and was now holding Nico's hand. A light blush dusted over Nico's cheeks, though it was not just him. Will's ears slowly turned red as he smiled sheepishly at Nico. Will lifted their hands up to his face and pressed his lips to the back of Nico's hand.

Nico said nothing as a silence fell over the two of them. He didn't pull his hand away or make any sort of rude comment. The boy just looked down at his lap, not willing to meet the blond's gaze. Pressing his lips together, Nico squeezed Will's hand.


	4. Never Forgive, Never Forget

It had been three days, yet Will still refused to let them leave. Nico had broken out with a fever a few hours after Will had gotten back from searching the city, but that had gone down a day ago. At least the blond idiot hadn't left the condo for very long. Aside from changing the oil, Will had kept himself confined to the condo.

Nico sat on the couch, wiping his nose and staring out on the balcony. The rain had lasted two days, and Will was trying to collect some water from buckets he had left outside. If Nico were being honest with himself, he might have been a little distracted by the fact that Will was currently bent over outside. What? He had hormones, sue him.

When Will came in, he put down two buckets by the door before looking up at Nico. “So, how are you feeling?”

Nico narrowed his eyes, his vision blurring for a moment. “The same as when you asked me like five minutes ago.” The boy let out three coughs before laying his head down. “I feel sick to my stomach. Why did you have to make me eat? I wasn't hungry.”

Will placed a hand on Nico's forehead. “But you need to eat. You'll be fine.”

“We should move soon,” Nico said weakly.

The blond let out a sigh. “I don't think you're ready for that just yet.” With a grunt, he lifted Nico up and carried Nico—much to the boy's protest—to the bedroom Nico had been using. “You need some more rest.” The blond smirked a little at the dark look he received from Nico. “It'll be dark soon, so it's not like we can leave now. We'll see how you're feeling in the morning.”

It only made Nico more annoyed when Will reached over and took some medicine out of the small medical bag he had been keeping beside Nico's bed. Nico crossed his arms with a grunt as two small pills were held out for him. He still wasn't a fan of being taken care of.

Will let out a sigh. “Just take them, Nico. The sooner you get better, the sooner we can travel. We still have a ways to go before we get to New York.”

Reluctantly, Nico held out his hand and let the blond give him the pills. Will left for a second, only to return with a glass of water. He washed the pills down before shoving the empty glass back at his blond traveling companion. Before he left, Will ran his hands through Nico's hair with a smile.

Once the door was closed, Nico grumbled and rolled onto his side. He stared out his window, watching as the sun slowly descended in the distance. He never thought he would say it, but Nico actually missed the days where he could actually go outside and feel safe. Now he just felt like a caged rat most of the time.

Tonight, Nico found himself back in California, on the day he tagged along with Bianca and his father to look at a particular university. Bianca seemed to like the campus, and loved the program even more. There was this girl, Thalia, in the department that Bianca would be in, who kept rambling to his sister about different things. Nico tried to tune them out, too busy playing around on his Nintendo DS.

He was following along behind them as they walked through the halls, not really paying attention to where he was going. This only served to his downfall. Literally. The next thing Nico knew, he was on the floor. His face paled as he found that his DS had broken in the fall. Ready to chew out the person he had bumped into, Nico looked up with a glare.

“Shit, I'm so sorry, kid.” The guy's hands quickly picked up Nico's broken gaming device and handed it back with a sheepish look.

“I-” Nico was having a hard time finding any words.

When he had looked up, Nico had been greeted by a pair of the most beautiful sea-green eyes that he had ever seen. Some messy, and slightly wet, black hair fell into the guy's eyes as he offered Nico a lopsided smile. And when they stood up, Nico found that he had to look up several inches, because the brown-eyed boy barely made it up to the guy's shoulders.

“Well, looks like your brother has met Percy,” Thalia mumbled.

Percy met Bianca's eyes with a slight panic. “I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going.”

Before Nico could say anything, Bianca slung an arm around him. “Don't worry about it, Dad will probably just buy him a new one.” She smirked down at her brother. “Right, Nico?”

The boy could only nod, too busy staring. This Percy guy was gorgeous, like he had fallen straight out of heaven. Nico's heart only beat faster when Percy grinned down at him.

Percy held his hand out. “Percy Jackson.”

“N-Nico,” the boy mumbled.

“That's a cool name.” Percy grinned again before shaking hands with Nico's sister. “And you?”

“Bianca di Angelo.” The girl adjusted the green hat on her head.

“So, you thinking about coming here?”

Bianca glanced around a little before nodding. “Seems like a good choice.”

Percy chuckled and ruffled Nico's hair a little. “Don't worry, kid, I'll look after your sister for you.”

Nico shot up in bed, coughing. His face was burning up and he quickly shot out of bed. Stumbling out of his room, Nico made his way to the bathroom. Nico wasted no time in throwing up the contents of his stomach into the toilet. After no more would come out, Nico shut the lid and pressed himself against the wall.

A few seconds later, Will's door opened. In the darkness, Nico noticed the blond stumble into the bathroom. A second later, the bathroom was illuminated by a lantern. “Nico? Are you okay?”

Nico did not reply, too worried that more vomit would come up. The boy buried his face into his hands. His lips only pursed when he remembered his dream.

It had only been a month later that Nico had gone back to that school and helped his sister move in. And it wasn't long after that when Nico found himself back there during the outbreak. Nico let out a small breath, resting his head against the wall. Percy Jackson, the boy that had fucking lied to Nico.

Nico batted a hand away when Will tried to feel his head. “I'm fine.” The boy glanced away. “Sorry about throwing up in the toilet. I know we can't flush it; I wasn't thinking.”

Will sat down next to Nico, smiling a little. “It's okay, we'll be fine. We can just get a new condo room if it starts to stink.”

Nico turned to give the blond a glare. “I want to leave.”

“I know,” Will whispered. He scooted closer and felt Nico's head. “If your fever is down in the morning, we will. I promise.” He brushed some of Nico's wet bangs from the boy's eyes. “Bad dream?”

Nico didn't answer. It was none of Will's business. There was no point in talking about someone that was probably dead by now.

“You're welcome to sleep with me, if you're having trouble sleeping,” Will continued.

Nico cut his eyes over to the blond. “No thanks.” He got up, his legs wobbling a little. “I'd rather not become a last scenario, simply because there's nobody else around for you to get hot and heavy with.”

Will seemed a little surprised, barely managing to catch Nico before the boy could fall over. “Um, what?” He steadied Nico before giving the boy a confused look. “What are you talking about?”

Motioning between the two of them, Nico removed himself from the blond's grasp. “Whatever this is you're trying to do with me. I get that you have needs, but I-”

“Nico?”

“What?”

“Shut up,” Will chuckled. He let out a sigh before guiding Nico into the room he had been occupying. Nico frowned and sat down on the edge of Will's bed. The blond left for a moment, returning a second later with the lantern. He sat it down next to the bed before collapsing behind Nico. “You think I'm trying to use you?”

Nico slowly nodded. “Yeah, kind of.” He motioned to himself. “I doubt someone like you would want someone like me in a normal circumstance. You probably had lots of girls trying to get with you before the world ended.” The boy frowned and looked down, picking at the cotton pants he had been wearing. “If that's what you were expecting, and the only reason you've been keeping me around, perhaps you should just go on without me.”

There was a long silence. During that time, Nico actually had to turn his head to make sure Will was still there. The blond was staring at him with a sad look in his eyes, one that quickly made Nico look away. The boy nearly jumped off the bed when he felt an arm slide around his waist.

Will laid his head down on the pillow, tightening his arm around Nico's waist. He pulled the boy back, until Nico was leaning back against the blond. “You remember that I said I've been in other groups?”

Nico gave a small nod.

“I've been in two.” Will's voice was soft, almost relaxing. Nico would never admit it, but he liked the sound of Will's voice. Except when Will was nagging him, Nico could live without having to hear that. “The second was a group of five, myself included. There was a girl close to my age in that group.”

Nico clenched his jaw. He didn't want to hear about how Will got a girl out of her clothes. “And?” He nearly growled. 

Will smiled and used his other hand to trail his fingers along Nico's arm. “Nothing. We didn't do anything. She was nice, and she was interested in me. But I wasn't interested in her, if you catch my drift.”

To say that Nico looked surprised was an understatement. He gaped as he turned around to stare at the blond. “You-what?”

The blond grinned up at him. “I'm gay, Nico. I like guys. I have a thing for the dick. Do I need to be more blunt?” He chuckled. Nico quickly shook his head, his cheeks turning pink. “I didn't do anything with her. I didn't do anything with anyone in that group. Before that, right after the outbreak, I was traveling with two of my friends from back home. Both of them were guys.”

“Boyfriend?”

Will shook his head. His hand had moved up to mess with Nico's hair at some point, though Nico could not say when. “Just friends. I mean, it did eventually get to a point where the topic came up.” The blond shrugged. “I guess that can sort of be comforting. Anyways, they ended up having sex, but I declined.” The older boy pulled Nico down next to him, rolling the boy over so they were face to face. “Do you know why?”

So many things popped into Nico's head, but none of them seemed like good answers. Why had Will declined both times? Frowning, Nico met Will's blue eyes.

The blond smiled and brushed some of Nico's hair away. “Because, I didn't like them like that. I was raised to be a gentleman, thank you very much.” Both of his arms found their way around Nico's waist. “So, I don't think you can use the excuse that is in your head if I've declined offers in the past.”

“You don't even know me,” Nico mumbled.

“True.” Will smiled again. “But I'm willing to get to know you, if you'll let me. I guess a physical attraction isn't the best thing to go off of, but let's be real. Most relationships begin with two people finding each other physically appealing.” Their foreheads touched. “I think you're a good guy. Perhaps a little damaged from whatever happened to you, but I can tell you've still got a good heart buried in there somewhere. I do like the few things that I do know about you, Nico. I mean, perhaps I could do without the cold approach to other survivors, but nobody is perfect.”

Nico pursed his lips. “I figured that would come up eventually.”

Will pulled Nico closer, resting the boy's head under his chin. “I was worried, at first, but then you were all worried about me. It was cute, but it also showed me that you still care.”

“Do not,” Nico grumbled, trying to push the blond away.

Unfortunately, Will wouldn't release his hold. “You can lie all you want, but we both know the truth,” the blond chuckled. “But you're missing my point, Nico. I haven't tried to get in your pants yet, have I?”

“You tried to do something the other day.”

“Yeah, kiss you.” The blond pouted a little. He let out a sigh. “You don't believe me, do you?”

Nico shrugged. “Sounds like something someone would say to try and get in your pants.” He shoved the blond back a little. “I just don't see what you could see in me. You're...” Nico's cheeks flared up. “Well, you're not bad to look at.”

Will smiled and Nico noted that his ears turned pink. “I'm not lying about what I told you, Nico,” he said softly. The blond reached down and took Nico's hand, bringing it up to his lips. Nico's face turned red as Will placed a small kiss to his palm. “I think you're cute, especially when you blush like that.”

“I'm not blushing!” Nico struggled to shove Will off the bed, but the blond held on tightly to the sheets. “Jerk.”

“I'm just kidding.” Will grinned and sat up. “Well, not about you being cute. But I was telling the truth about the past groups I've been in. I could have had something with them, but I didn't. I would like something with you, though, if you'll let me. I haven't tried to get in your pants. I won't even try to get you out of your clothes tonight, should you decide to sleep in here. Sleeping next to you is nice, though.”

Will really needed to stop saying things like that, mainly so Nico could stop blushing. Who said things like that? It was already trying to look into those eyes without blushing, Nico did not need the blond saying embarrassing things as well.

Nico pressed his lips together. “Fine, I'll sleep here.” He narrowed his eyes and pointed his finger at Will when the blond got an excited look on his face. “But no funny business. Clothes stay on.”

The blond nodded. Nico let out a sigh and settled down on the bed. Leaning over, Will turned off the lantern and then crawled under the covers with Nico. Rolling onto his side, Nico closed his eyes with a sigh. It was not a second later that he felt Will's body up against him, an arm wrapping around his waist.

Unfortunately, not even Will's comfort could keep the nightmares from coming back.

Everything seemed so normal when Nico had woken up that night. The boy had sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes. Something had woken him up, though he had no idea what it had been. Standing up, Nico walked over to his window. There were police sirens going off somewhere in the city. He took a step back as a jet shot by overhead. Frowning and tilting his head to the side, Nico glanced out at the city.

Fire. He could see fire. Something was wrong. Pursing his lips, Nico pulled himself away from the window and walked towards his door. Right before he grabbed the doorknob, Nico froze.

There was an odd noise coming from somewhere close by in the house, though he could not place it. He could also hear what sounded like someone eating food very obnoxiously. Something felt wrong. Gulping, Nico slowly opened his door.

The hall light was still on. The sound of his father and stepmother's TV could be heard down the hall, their door slightly ajar. Slowly, Nico made his way down and pushed the door open.

The room was empty. Looking around, Nico folded his arms tightly over his chest. His legs were slightly cold, as he was only clad in a T-shirt and boxers. He turned when he heard a noise downstairs. Glancing at the clock, Nico noted that it was only a little past eleven. Perhaps his parents had decided to stay up a little longer.

Nico was about to shut the door, when he noticed something on the TV.

The news had been covering an strange new infection outbreak over the past week or two. The whole thing ate away at Nico's nerves, hating it when his father turned over to the news to follow the reports on the infection. From what was being broadcast now, there were more cases.

There was a woman reporting from just inside a hospital. A few doctors ran by, blood splattered all across their faces and scrubs. Nico let out a breath as he red the bold words across the bottom of the screen.

NO CURE FOUND!

Quite the abysmal message, especially considering the body count had been rising over the past day or two. Nico froze when about ten soldiers in full combat attire stormed into the hospital, guns pointed at the ready. One of the soldiers put their hand on the camera and panned it towards the ground. It cut back to the guy in the newsroom after that. Nico let out a sigh and shut his parents' door.

Nico froze in the middle of the hallway. His room was close to the stairs, which allowed him to see the front door from the entrance to his room. The problem was that the front door was wide open, and nobody seemed to be nearby it. His parents never left the door open, not even in the summer. Pursing his lips, Nico quickly grabbed his phone from his room, just in case someone had broken into their house.

As quietly as possible, Nico crept down the stairs. Once at the door, he shut it and looked around. His brow furrowed upon noticing Persephone's feet poking out from around the corner of the living room. And that sound was still there, like someone ripping chicken meat apart to be cooked. Not to mention the sickening sound of someone chewing food with their mouth practically open. Nico moved closer, getting ready to dial 911.

The sight that Nico found nearly caused him to drop his phone. He clamped a hand over his mouth as he stood there, frozen. Persephone was on the floor, a large portion of her throat missing. Nico's father was crouched beside her. At first, Nico thought he might be crying. Perhaps someone had broken in and killed Persephone.

But then Nico noticed Hades's hands. They were covered in blood. And the eating sounds that Nico had been hearing? They were coming from his father. Nico didn't know what to do. What had happened?”

“D-Dad?” Nico barely managed to whisper.

Much to Nico's surprise, Hades whipped around and looked up at Nico. There was a deep hunger in the man's severely bloodshot eyes as he stared up at his son. A portion of Hades's shirt had been ripped, blood drenching the shirt around it. Was that a bite mark?

Hades stumbled to his feet, reaching a bloody hand out towards Nico. The boy slowly backed away. “Dad, what are you doing?” He asked. “What happened to Persephone?”

There was no answer. Nico's eyes grew with panic when his father lunged at him. Nico turned and sprinted, nearly stumbling on the rug in the hallway. He could hear his father's frantic footsteps right behind him. Unfortunately, Hades made a lunge for Nico and grabbed him by the ankle.

The two went sliding across the floor, Nico tumbling over a chair in the dining room. His phone flew out of his hand and hit the wall, shattering. Nico groaned and pushed himself up. His father had hit the table, causing it to split down the middle. The man was already trying get up, growling wildly at Nico. The boy made a frantic dash back to the living room.

He stumbled past Persephone's body and ran to the fireplace, grabbing a fire iron. By the time he turned around, his father was only a few feet from him. Nico's eyes widened as he stared up at his father, who towered over Nico. “Don't make me do this,” the boy whispered.

Hades didn't seem to hear him, or didn't want to listen. Either way, the man advanced on his son. Closing his eyes, Nico made a hard swing at his father's head. A second later, there was a loud thump. Nico opened his eyes.

The iron rod shook in Nico's hand. Hades laid limply on the ground, his head snapped to the side in an unnatural manner. Nico stood there, shaking, for a moment. He had just killed his father. His heart pounded heavily in his chest as he used the iron rod to poke his father's foot. Nothing.

It took Nico a moment, but he eventually realized there was something warm and wet on his cheeks. Reaching up, Nico found that he was crying. Not only that, but his hands were shaking so bad that he dropped the fire iron to the ground. The boy crumpled to the floor, bringing his knees up to his chest. He just wanted this to be a dream, please let it be a dream. Nico had just killed his father.

This couldn't be happening, could it? Was this what he thought it was? Nico's breathing was ragged and he found it extremely hard to breath. But Nico had no time to panic or be upset, there was something more important that he had to do.

“Bianca,” Nico whispered.

His eyes snapped open wide as he ran towards the stairs. Taking them two at a time, Nico bounded up to his parents' room. His phone was destroyed, but he could still use theirs to call his sister. Not to mention call for help. Nico stumbled into the room and darted over to his father's nightstand, grabbing the cellphone.

Nico dialed his sister's number and put it to his ear. Oddly enough, however, the call wouldn't go through. His brow furrowed as he tried again. It went through this time. Nico hurried back to his room as it rang.

Once inside his room, Nico locked his door and scrambled around for his backpack. The phone kept ringing, which only diminished Nico's nerves. He tossed clothes into his back, as much as he could, while still leaving room for other supplies. The call eventually went to Bianca's voicemail.

Cursing, Nico threw on some pants and ran back to his parents' room. His father kept a gun in a locked case beside the bed. Not even bothering to look for the key, Nico grabbed a brass figurine that his stepmother kept in the room and smashed the lock. Reaching inside, Nico picked up the pistol, making sure to store the extra ammo inside his backpack.

After trying his sister again and receiving no answer, Nico dashed down the stairs, only to stop. Persephone was gone and the window was now broken. He grabbed the keys to his car. As he was about to open the door, Nico stopped and stared down at the trail of blood that led from where Persephone had been moments ago to the now broken window. As much as he hated to admit it, Nico had this sinking feeling that he knew what this was.

Persephone was dead, or should have been. But she was now gone. The way his father had tried to attack him, like he had actually wanted to eat Nico, it all added up. This outbreak, this new infection that was going around the world, it had created zombies. With this thought in his head, Nico flung the door open and ran out into the night.

After driving for over three hours—it seemed like everyone was trying to get somewhere, and all in a panic—Nico found himself in front of his sister's university. A few buildings had their lights on, but most were dark. It was here, Nico could tell. A lot of cars were gone, but the ones that were still here were either still parked or had been abandoned in various locations. The front entrance had backed up, and people must have eventually abandoned their cars to escape on foot.

Nico cut across the grass, heading straight for the dorm that his sister was in. This wasn't smart, he knew that. This was how people got themselves killed in situations. But Nico was not about to sit by and let his sister get killed, or worse. Once at the entrance to the building, Nico parked the car and grabbed his gun.

Normally, the doors were locked, but something had broken through the glass. Nico pressed his lips into a thin line as he squeezed through and into the lobby. The lights were flickering, some even hanging loosely from the ceiling. It looked like someone had actually fired a gun inside the dorms. As he slowly walked, Nico noticed that blood was smeared across the reception desk. He didn't even bother to check and see if someone was back there. That was yet another way people died in these situations.

He tried to open the door to the stairs that was closest to his sister's room, but they had been sealed from the other side. Nico peered through a small glass window, finding random furniture pressed up against the door. A bloody hand hit the window from the other side, causing Nico to stumble backwards and fall to the floor.

The thing banged wildly on the door, smashing his hands against it. But the door wouldn't budge, much to Nico's relief. Still, he didn't need to linger. What if there were more of those things nearby? They might hear him. Sparing a final glance at the infected college boy on the other side of the door, Nico went in search of another set of stairs.

Unfortunately, it seemed like the upper levels were in worse shape. Most of the lights were out in the hallway. Worst of all, a lot of the doors had been left open. Nico gulped and turned the safety off on his gun. He could hear the infected, so he knew that he wasn't alone on the floor. He pressed himself against a wall, hidden in the shadows, as some girl with blood covering her mouth ran across the hallway and into another room. Nico stood still for a moment, too afraid to move. A second later, there was a banging from the room the infected girl had just gone into.

It seemed strange at first, perhaps they were just brainless, but then he heard it. A small whimpering noise. Someone had locked themselves in something, probably a closet, and now they were trapped by one of the infected. Nico let out a breath and moved along the wall. He couldn't stop now, not when he was so close to his sister. Assuming she was even here, Nico thought to himself.

What if she had left when the outbreak hit the school? What if she had the same thought Nico had? What if Bianca was on her way home to find him right now?

But all those questions were washed away when a bone chilling scream pierced his ears. After that, there was another scream and a loud crack. The scream had been all too familiar to Nico, he recognized it. He found himself frozen in the hallway, unwilling to go forward and confirm it. Maybe she was okay, though. Maybe she defended herself.

It didn't really matter, because Nico heard several of the infected cry out in anger behind him. They were drawn to noise, Nico quickly noted. He made a wild dash to where he had heard the scream. He shot into his sister's room and slammed the door.

If Nico did not have fast reflexes, he would have gotten his head knocked off. A bat swung over his head a second after Nico hit the floor. When he rolled over, Percy Jackson was staring down at him with a frantic look in his eyes, the bat drawn up over his shoulder and ready to swing again.

“Nico?” The green-eyed boy whispered.

Nico was unable to answer, though. Just as the boy was about to ask Percy if he was trying to kill him, his brown eyes found their way over to the corner next to his sister's closet. Thalia was crouched down over there, huddled over a shaking body. Nico felt his face pale. No.

But it was true. Thalia turned to see what the commotion was, only to reveal Bianca on the ground. Her shirt and the carpet were soaked in blood, and a chunk of her shoulder had been ripped out. The door to the closet had been smashed in by a body that had its feet strewn across the door.

“Bianca!” Nico cried out as he shot across the floor.

“Nico,” his sister said breathlessly. It seemed like she was straining to even breath. She felt warm, even from just holding her hand. “What....” She closed her eyes, only to try and focus them on her brother a second later. “What are you doing here?”

“I came looking for you.”

Bianca smiled weakly at him. “You're so stupid,” she whispered. “Dad?”

Nico shook his head. “He's not one of them, though. Persephone on the other hand...”

Thalia placed a hand on Bianca's head. “She's been bitten.”

“No shit,” Nico hissed, narrowing his eyes at the other girl.

The blue-eyed girl pursed her lips, glaring right back at the boy. “I'm just saying. I've seen what happens to people that get bit. They turn. I think we both fucking know what this is.” She nodded her head at Bianca. “Do you really want your sister to end up like one of them?”

Nico shoved Thalia away. “You're not killing my sister!” The boy jumped when several hands banged against the door to the dorm room. He pursed his lips before he glared at Thalia again. “There has to be a way to save her.”

“We don't really have the time to kid ourselves right now, kid.” Thalia stood up to her feet. “You and I both know that they weren't able to find a cure.”

“No,” Nico growled.

Bianca squeezed his hand. “Nico, she's right.”

The gun was picked up from beside him. Nico looked up in a panic. Percy had a sad look on his face. “I'm sorry, Nico,” the older boy said softly. He placed a hand on Nico's shoulder and guided the boy away. “You shouldn't have to do this.”

“No,” Nico cried, fresh tears streaming down his cheeks.

Bianca smiled over at him. “You have to live for me, Nico. Keep going.” She coughed up some blood. She then gave Percy a hard look. “Keep him safe.”

Percy nodded. “I will, I promise.”

Thalia held out her hand. Percy frowned down at her before handing over the gun. He walked over to Nico and turned the boy away. A second later, a gunshot went off. Nico tried to dart over to his sister and possibly hit Thalia, but Percy grabbed him and pressed the boy against his chest. Nico buried his face against the blue fabric, soaking it with his tears. Percy wrapped his arms around Nico, letting the boy just stand there and cry for a moment. 

Eventually, Percy released him and Nico ran over to his sister. There was now a bullet hole in the middle of Bianca's head. Her eyes were closed now, it almost looked like she might be sleeping. But Nico knew better. He rubbed his eyes before scooping his sister's head up and placing it in his lap. Percy and Thalia quietly stood off to the side, letting the boy mourn his sister. Well, almost quiet.

“Don't get any of her blood on you,” Percy whispered when Nico went to brush some of his sister's hair out of her face.

He was alone now, all of his immediate family was dead. Nico had failed. He wasn't fast enough. He had failed to save his sister. Slowly climbing to his feet, Nico turned his cold eyes on the boy he had crushed on before all of this.

No, he thought, Percy Jackson had failed Bianca.

He had promised Nico to protect her, and now his sister was dead. Nico grabbed the gun back from Thalia, not even looking at her. He wanted to get away, out of this nightmare.

“We need to move,” Thalia ordered.

Percy nodded, grabbing his bat up from Bianca's bed. “We only have the bat and the gun.” He looked around. “Can we climb out the window?”

Thalia let out a sigh. “Three stories up, not safe to jump. Ledges are too thin to use.”

Percy cursed under his breath and rubbed the back of his neck. His eyes darted around the room for a moment, until they landed on Bianca's bed. “I have an idea.”

Percy's brilliant idea consisted of using the entire bed as a improvised shield. Thalia agreed to it, probably because there really weren't any other ideas. So, when Nico opened the door on their signal, Percy and Thalia rammed the bed into the four zombies that were waiting outside the door. Percy and Thalia turned the frame, lodging it in between the two walls of the hallway. And, to make extra sure that it bought them some time, Percy lifted the bottom up and flipped it on its side to make the barrier a little higher.

Percy quickly drew his head away when some infected blonde girl with short hair made a grab for him. Thalia pushed Nico's back, gently urging him towards the stairs. Percy bolted after them. As they descended the stairs, Nico heard the infected kid from earlier at the bottom.

It turned around to growl at them, but Percy swung and smashed its skull in with the bat. Nico just stood there, staring blankly down at the thing, while Thalia and Percy moved all the furniture out of the way. Once that way done, they grabbed Nico by each wrist and dragged him towards the exit.

Once outside, Nico jerked his hands away. He glared down at the ground, his hands shaking. Percy tried to grab him, but Nico took a step back. “Stay away from me,” the boy growled. He finally looked up, narrowing his dark eyes at the taller boy.

Percy's lips pressed together. “Nico, we have to go.”

Without warning, Nico punched Percy straight in the jaw. The green-eyed boy stumbled back, surprised. “You promised me!” Nico screamed, fresh tears streaking his cheeks. “You promised me that you'd take care of her, and now she's dead!”

Percy held up his hands. “I know, Nico,” he said calmly. The brown-eyed boy took a few steps backwards. “I'm sorry. I should have gotten to her faster, but I need to get us-”

“No.” Nico's grip tightened on his gun. “I'm not going anywhere with you.” Nico took another step back, his back hitting the glass door of the dorm.

Percy's eyes shot open wide. “Nico!”

Nico's brow furrowed. Glass shattered behind him and Nico found himself hitting the ground. Percy and Thalia shot forward. They pried the infected person off Nico, but not before Nico felt a sharp pain in his upper arm. Thalia shoved the zombie against the building, where Percy bashed its brains in.

Nico rolled onto his back, screaming in pain. His arm felt like it was on fire. His breathing ragged, the boy looked down. Blood poured from his arm, a fresh bite mark very apparent there. Percy appeared beside him, helping the boy to sit up.

“Oh God, Nico, I'm sorry. I'm sorry,” he whispered. “I didn't...”

Nico shoved him away, scrambling to his feet. His eyes flickered over to Thalia, where he noticed the girl eyeing his fallen gun. Quickly scooping it up, Nico backed away from the two of them. Holding the gun in one hand and pressing his other hand against his fresh wound, Nico walked backwards. “Well,” the boy said breathlessly, “I guess you just can't protect anyone.”

Percy actually looked hurt. “Nico,” the green-eyed boy whispered.

Thalia stepped forward. “Nico, you don't want to be one of those things.”

“Stay away from me,” Nico growled, pointing his gun at her. He dug in his pocket, pulling out his keys. He threw them at Percy, who barely managed to catch them. “Go. Leave me alone and go.”

Percy's eyes were pleading with him, but Nico no longer cared. With a final glare, Nico took off running as fast as he could. He didn't stop when Percy called out after him, begging for the boy to come back. Nico just ran, looking for any escape as he heard those infected things closing in on him.

“Nico! Nico!”

Nico's eyes snapped open, his body completely drenched in sweat. When his eyes focused, they found a pair of pale blue eyes staring back at him with concern. Nico surged forward, clinging to Will's shirtless form. Will gently rubbed his back.

“It's okay, Nico,” the blond whispered soothingly. “It was just a dream.” None of that helped Nico calm down. It wasn't just a dream, it had been very much real. “I've got you.”

Nico finally pulled back, looking down at himself. His shirt clung to his torso. With wild eyes, he looked up at Will. The blond's hair was slightly wet, which probably meant that the blond had been freshening up. A towel rested around his bare shoulders and some cotton pajama pants clung to his hips.

Nico let out a shaky breath. “It wasn't just a dream,” he whispered. “It was the night my sister died during the outbreak.”

Will took his hand and kissed it. “I'm sorry,” the blond whispered. “It was a rough night.” He settled down on the bed, letting Nico lean against him. “I was doing some late night work in one of the medical labs at my school. Had my iPod on, so I didn't hear anything, not to mention that it was impossible to hear anything outside of the building. Fell asleep in there. So, it kind of threw me for a loop when I woke up and found that the world had ended.”

“You're lucky they didn't get you in your sleep,” Nico mumbled.

Will smiled and kissed the top of Nico's head. “Well, the building was pretty secure. Either way, I was just lucky to find my friends before they left campus.”

Nico closed his eyes, reaching underneath the arm of his shirt to feel the faint traces of his scar. He was beginning to think it was never going to fully go away. Nico let out a sigh. He never saw Percy or Thalia after that night, nor did he go looking for them after he failed to turn. It had only been two hours after he left them that Nico realized that he had left his backpack in his car. That part had kind of sucked, but at least Nico had survived so far.

Will pressed the back of his hand to Nico's forehead again. “Well, you're a little warm, but I think that is just from your bad dream. I think your fever might be gone. You should be well enough to travel today, if you still want to.”

Nico gave a small nod. He didn't really want to look up at Will right now, still too shaken from his dream. The boy slowly pulled away from Will, standing up. He wrapped his arms around himself.

Will let out a sigh and jumped to his feet. “Okay. Um, you should probably freshen up. Definitely should change clothes, since you're better now.” He stepped around the bed, reaching out to tug Nico closer to him by the hem of his pajama pants. Nico's eyes slowly drifted up to meet with Will's. “Can I...” Will's cheeks turned a little pink. “Can I kiss you?”

Those words didn't even register in Nico's head for a good five seconds. He just blinked up at the blond, unsure if he had heard correctly. “Um, I...” Nico whispered. “I don't know.”

Will quickly nodded his head, casting his eyes to the floor. “Right, sorry. I shouldn't have asked.” He rubbed the back of his neck, stepping aside. “You just had your nightmare and you were just sick. Or maybe you don't want to.” He chewed on his lip. “You should go get cleaned up.”

Nico pressed his lips together, pushing some of his bangs out of his eyes. He slowly walked past Will, stepping across the hall and into his own room to retrieve some clothes. From there, he quietly moved to the bathroom, turning on a lamp, and shut the door.

After washing his hair and cleaning the more essential parts of his body—crotch, underarms, butt, neck, and face—Nico stood in front of the mirror. He got dressed and began to brush his teeth. Nico took his clothes back to his room, stuffing them into his bag. His brushing slowed a bit as Nico stood there and watched Will pack his things from the next room.

Had Will really been serious about what he had said last night? Nico quickly pushed that thought away and returned to the bathroom. After spitting out his toothpaste, Nico stared at his reflection in deep thought.

Perhaps he should tell Will that he had been bitten once. Yeah, because that would be a fun conversation. Nobody was going to believe that he was immune to the infection. Hell, Nico barely even believed it. Why did it even matter anymore? Even if Nico was immune, it was too late. There probably wasn't even anyone left alive that could work with it to find a cure. A cure was a hopeless dream, just like a place to settle down. It was all just wishful thinking.

Nico's breath hitched when he felt a pair of warm arms wrap around his waist. Will leaned in and pressed his lips to the crook of Nico's neck. “You looked pretty deep in thought. Care to share with the class?”

Nico shook his head, moving away from Will. He stepped back into his room, fully aware that the blond followed him. After he finished packing, he moved to leave the room, but Will blocked his exit. The blond tugged Nico's waist closer to him.

“Nico, you need to let me in,” the blond said gently. “Keeping all this pain bottled up inside you isn't good for you.”

“I really don't want to talk about my dream,” Nico whispered. He pushed past the blond, but Will caught his wrist.

The next thing Nico knew, he was pinned against the door frame. Will reached up and brushed his fingers against Nico's cheek. Blue eyes flickered down to Nico's lips. Will was so close that Nico could feel the blond's breath. It was intoxicating, and definitely caused Nico a problem below the waist.

“Look me in the eye and tell me you don't like me,” Will whispered, barely two inches from Nico's lips. “If you can do that, I'll back off and never try this again.”

There was no point even trying, Nico knew that. He didn't even bother. Nico was tired of running, even if he knew that he couldn't stay with Will forever. He just wanted some comfort, someone that could care for him. Even if it was for a short time. There was no way people at a refugee camp would let him stay, not when they saw his scar. If they realized what it was, they'd shoot Nico on the spot.

So, instead of arguing, Nico grabbed Will's collar with one hand and the door frame behind him with the other. Closing his eyes, Will leaned in the small distance between them and sealed their lips together. It was slow at first, slowly building into something more passionate. Their lips moved against each other, Will sucking on Nico's bottom lip. Will's hands found their way to Nico's waist, pressing himself up against Nico's small frame.

Will finally pulled back, though he kept their faces close. He smiled at Nico, washing away some of the boy's fears. Nico's troubles seemed to matter less whenever he saw Will smile. Leaning back in, Will pecked the boy on the lips before pulling away completely.

“Better get on the road,” Will said, smiling like an idiot.

Nico rolled his eyes, slinging his backpack onto his shoulder. “Don't blame me when you regret this later.”

Will continued to smile as they headed towards the door. “That will never happen, angel.”

Nico narrowed his eyes, poking the blond's chest. “I told you not to call me that.”

Will grinned and opened the door for Nico. “Too late, you're stuck with it. Just like you're stuck with me.”

Nico rolled his eyes as he followed Will down to the car. Perhaps they would separate one day, but he supposed that he could enjoy the little time they would have together. And perhaps Nico would tell Will about his immunity eventually. Hell, maybe the blond could help him figure something out. Will smiled at him as they loaded up the car.

Before going around the the other side, Will leaned down and pecked the raven-haired boy on the cheek. A small blush crept onto Nico's cheeks. Later, he thought to himself.


	5. Love Bites

“What does it matter what my favorite color is?” Nico growled, shoving the blond next to him.

Will stumbled from trying to balance himself on some train tracks that they were following. They had arrived in a small town outside of Dayton, Ohio a little over an hour ago, only to find the road they needed to take completely blocked off. Since it was getting dark, Will had suggested they make camp for the night. And by camp, he meant they search the houses until they found a suitable one.

Not that it would seem to matter. Most of the town had been surrounded in barb wire, blockades, and cars. If there had been zombies here, it looked like the town residents had cleared them out before abandoning the town. Still, Nico didn't like that Will had dragged him along to go walking. Being outside, no matter where they were, was not safe. Yet the blond was persistent that they take a little time to enjoy themselves. Well, Nico could enjoy himself just fine from the comfort of the house they were staying in for the night.

“Aw, come on,” Will pouted. “Learn to have a little fun, Neeks.”

Nico narrowed his eyes. “Do not call me that.”

Will just smiled and reached over to hold Nico's hand, but the boy jerked it away. While being with Will for the time seemed like a good idea two days ago, Nico wasn't so sure anymore. Letting Will close meant that the blond could discover the mark on his arm. How was Nico even supposed to explain that? Oh, he was immune? Yeah, because there was so many cases of patients being immune to the virus before the outbreak.

Even if Will did take it well, Nico really didn't want to feel like some kind of science experiment. That was all someone in the medical field would see him as, right? Well, news flash for them: Nico didn't know why he was immune. Sure, it was a relief when he found out, but that didn't make him any less afraid of those things. They could still tear out his throat and have him for breakfast.

When he saw the distant look in Nico's eyes, Will nudged the boy lightly. “Hey, come on, talk to me.” He gave the other boy a warm smile. “My favorite color is orange.”

“Boring,” Nico mumbled.

Will still smiled. “Like the sun. So, what about you?”

Nico gave the blond a deadpanned look. “Black, like my soul.”

The blond went back to balancing himself on the tracks. “Well, at least we're getting you to open up. We can never have too much of that cheerful personality of yours.”

Once again, Nico shoved the idiot. He let out a sigh and rubbed his arms. “How much longer until we get to New York?”

There was a sad look in the blond's light blue eyes, and Nico knew that he had hurt Will's feelings. It did make him feel guilty, not that he was going to apologize. Will let out a sigh, looking up at the sky. “Well, we've still got to get through Ohio, and then we'll be in Pennsylvania. And then it's just a straight shot into New York. Depends on how lucky we get.” He shrugged a little. “Maybe a week?”

Nico narrowed his eyes. “A week?”

Will stopped walking, staring down at his feet now. His brow was furrowed, and Nico could tell the blond was biting his tongue. “Well, it's just that the interstate we're following heads east a ways before it actually curves up into New York. It'll be fine.”

“Fine,” Nico muttered.

Stop, Nico kept trying to tell himself. He didn't really want to push Will away, but he just couldn't stop himself. And the hurt look that the blond was trying to hide felt like a fist clutching Nico's heart. The raven haired boy's eyes widened a little when Will suddenly stopped walking.

“We should head back,” Will whispered. He kept his head down as he turned around. “Sorry for bothering you with all those questions.”

Before Will could get too far, Nico's hand shot out and grasped the hem of Will's shirt. The blond blinked and turned around, glancing down at Nico. The raven haired boy kept his head down, unwilling to meet those blue eyes. The corner of Will's mouth tilted up into a lopsided smile. Without saying anything, the blond reached down and took Nico's hand. While Nico didn't look up the entire way back, he refused to let go of his traveling companion's hand.

He would never admit it to Will, but he enjoyed touching the blond's bare skin. A faint blush crept onto Nico's cheeks. Not that he had seen Will naked! At most, Nico had only gotten to see Will shirtless two or three times since they met. It was mostly the blond's hands; Nico enjoyed the warmth and life that radiated from them. It sort of felt like hope.

But of course Nico's mind wouldn't let him enjoy such things for too long. The fear of one day feeling those hands cold and lifeless crept into his head. Nico shook his head, earning himself a concerned look from the blond next to him. Will was like the embodiment of life, Nico wouldn't be able to take having to go through that.

Not that he really cared about the blond.

Will just represented everything that had been lost. He had been the first person that Nico had really seen in such a long time. And now that Nico had gotten to know him a little more, he just wanted that warmth that came from Will to keep on burning.

When they got back into the house, Will shut the door. He hadn't said anything the entire way back, but something sure seemed to be on his mind. When he noticed Nico staring at him, Will pressed his lips into a thin line. And then Nico's back hit the wall.

Brown eyes widened in surprise as Will's hands were placed on either side of his head. “Wh-what are you doing?”

“What does it look like I'm doing?” With his index finger, Will brushed a strand of hair out of Nico's face. “Unless you don't want me to kiss you.”

Nico sighed and maneuvered out under Will's arm. “You're we-”

Before Nico could finish his sentence, Will latched onto Nico's wrist and pulled him back. Nico's eyes widened as he was pulled into Will. With a gasp from Nico, Will leaned down and pressed their lips together. In an instant, Nico's entire body went limp. The only reason he didn't fall to the floor was because he had a death grip on the blond's shirt, and Will had an arm around his waist.

As he pulled away, Nico felt dazed. Okay, he could admit that Will was a very good kisser. “Don't do that,” Nico muttered breathlessly.

Will smirked a little. Leaning down, he kissed Nico's temple. Not even caring about the glare he received, Will walked off, probably to figure out what they were going to eat for dinner. Nico let out a sigh and rubbed the back of his neck.

He didn't really want Will to stop, but that didn't really seem to be a problem. Will seemed to gather that much on his own. Nico took a seat on the dusty couch that the house had. He watched his traveling companion sift through one of their bags. There was a soft smile on the blond's lips as he searched for some food. Nico wanted to be irritated with him, but that seemed practically impossible. While they could easily bicker, Nico found it rather hard to actually stay mad at the blond. The idiot was too likable for his own good.

“Can you turn one of the lanterns on, angel?” Will asked.

Without hesitation, Nico reached over and turned on one of their lanterns that was on a small table beside the couch. Only as he was about to settle back down did he realize what the blond had just said. “Don't call me that!” He hissed.

Will just smiled. Nico opened his mouth to chew him out, but the blond looked up and winked at him. It did not take long for Nico's face to turn a lovely shade of pink.

Several minutes later, Nico sat at the dining table, while Will was in the kitchen trying to find some bowls. Nico rolled his eyes, letting out a long sigh. “We can just eat out of the can.”

Will poked his head in the room with a look that clearly said he was not prepared to listen to Nico's reasoning. “I just wanted us to have a nice dinner.”

“We're in the middle of an apocalypse! This is no time for some kind of weird date!”

It seemed Will found what he was looking for, because he emerged into the dining room a moment later with two bowls full of ravioli. “It's not weird, this is standard date procedure. Though, it would be nice if we could find like a portable gas stove. At least then we could heat up our food.”

Nico poked at his food with a frown. “Yeah, well, keep dreaming.”

A smile formed on Will's lips. “Maybe they'll have real food at the place we're going to.”

Nico didn't say anything. How could he? Letting the blond know that he had no intentions of setting foot near this refugee camp was not exactly the best dinner conversation. There was no way a place like that would go well for Nico. They would find the scar, Nico had no doubt about that. There was no way they would let people in without checking them first. And that would go one of two ways. They would either shoot him on sight, or they would conduct weird experiments on him. Either one possibly meant his death.

But Will deserved the best chance he could get at survival. And while Nico had been harsh about the odds of this camp working on, he did think that it could offer some real protection for the blond. Even if that meant that they had to part ways. Will could always find someone else.

Unfortunately, the house they were in seemed to only have one bedroom. Nico had originally just insisted that Will take the bed, but the blond told him not to be ridiculous. “I'll be a perfect gentleman,” Will promised with a grin, though he really made no effort in hiding the fact that he crossed his fingers behind his back.

Still, Nico eventually caved and tossed his bag into the room. With no shame at all, Will tugged his shirt over his head. This was only the second time that Nico had gotten to witness the blond shirtless with a source of light, and he was still not disappointed with what he saw. The only question was why Will wanted him?

Nico was scrawny, with next to no real muscle. He didn't have any traces of abs on his chest, like Will did. He was deathly pale and could rarely get his hair to work properly. He had never even been that tall, or weighed much really. Nico didn't see how he could be anyone's desire.

To make matters worse, Will turned around to look at him. Nico quickly looked away as the blond smiled. He stepped over towards Nico and took the boy's hands. Nico arched a brow, finally looking up at the older teenager.

“You're allowed to look, Nico,” Will chuckled. He raised Nico's hand, placing it against the center of his stomach. “And touch. I don't mind.”

Nico only blushed more. “Who says things like that?”

A soft chuckle escaped from Will's throat. “Me, I guess.” He hummed lightly as he ran a hand up Nico's soft arm. Nico quickly grabbed the blond's wrist, right before Will could slide his hand under the sleeve of the raven haired boy's shirt. “What's wrong?”

“Nothing,” Nico mumbled. His lips tilted down, but he kept his hand on Will's stomach. Brown eyes flickered up. “Stop staring at me.”

Will's lips tilted up into a smile. “But you're cute.” Placing his hands on the small of Nico's back, he pulled the shorter boy against him. Blue eyes lowered to Nico's lips before the blond leaned in and sealed their lips together.

Nico let out a small gasp as they fell backwards, landing on the bed. Will ran his hand up Nico's leg, spreading them so that he could position himself in between them. Nico moaned into Will's mouth. The blond was hard, which was obvious from how it was pressing against Nico's backside. Another gasp escaped Nico's mouth as Will's warm hand slid underneath his shirt and traced soft fingers over his stomach.

Letting his eyes flutter close, Nico wrapped his arms around Will's neck. The blond rolled his hips against Nico, causing the raven haired boy to moan. Using the boy's open mouth to his advantage, Will slid his tongue in. The little shit, Nico thought, they hadn't even known each other that long, yet Will already knew how to get a reaction out of Nico.

It was all going great, until Will tried to unbutton Nico's flannel shirt. The boy pushed himself up the bed and out from underneath Will before the blond could even blink. Will just sat there, a little stunned. He arched a brow. “Um, did I do something wrong?” The blond inquired.

“No,” Nico managed to whisper. He redid the only button that Will managed to undo before settling on the edge of the bed. “I'm just not comfortable with that just yet.”

It wasn't a total lie. But, really, if it weren't for the scar on his arm, Nico probably would have let it go a little further. He bit down on his lip as he squeezed his upper arm. He really needed to tell Will, but he just didn't know what to say. Nico was still scared about what the blond's reaction would be. Even if he did take it well, what if Will didn't let Nico leave when they neared the camp? He might mean well, but Nico wasn't going to let Will's good nature be the death of him.

Nico just reached over and turned the lantern off. “Can we just get some sleep? I'm really tired.”

“Okay,” the blond said in the darkness. A second later, an arm wound its way around Nico's waist and pulled him down onto the bed.

Nico let out a sigh and rolled onto his side, facing away from Will. His brow furrowed as he felt shuffling behind him. Turning his head, he squinted to see what Will was doing. “Um, what are you doing?”

“I don't want to sleep in my pants.”

Nico felt his entire face heat up. That meant that Will was only in his underwear. And that was exactly how it was when Will pressed himself against Nico again.

Will rested his chin on Nico's shoulder. “Are you really going to sleep in your pants?”

“Maybe,” Nico muttered.

He could practically feel Will roll his eyes. “Don't be such a baby, your body is fine.” Will rolled Nico onto his back, where he leaned down and pressed a kiss to the boy's neck. “Can I take them off?” He asked, already fiddling with the button.

“If I said 'no'?”

Will's hands pulled back. “Then I'd leave them on.”

Nico let out a sigh. “Fine, you can take them off.”

In the blink of an eye, Will had undone Nico's jeans and tossed them over his shoulder. Nico almost wanted to tell the blond he was impressed with how fast he worked, but didn't want it to go to the blond's head. Will's mouth returned to Nico's neck, while his fingers trailed along the edges of Nico's boxer-briefs. Nico's fingers tangled in Will's hair and tilted his head to the side to give the blond better access. He bent his knees and tightened them around Will's waist, pulling the blond closer. Now that their lower halves were only in their underwear, Nico was able to get a pretty good idea of what lay beneath the blond's boxers. Nico really wasn't disappointed by what he felt pressing against him.

Will suddenly pulled away and Nico let out a whine. “What's wrong?” Nico asked.

The blond just chuckled and settled down next to the raven haired boy. “Just stopping it before we get out of hand.” He nipped at Nico's neck, drawing an unflattering sound from the shorter boy. “Besides, I don't have condoms.”

Nico rolled his eyes in the darkness. “There is other stuff we can do!”

“Oh, so we do want to do stuff,” Will teased. Nico smacked him, though the blond just pulled him closer. “I'd rather just be prepared.” He nuzzled against the boy's throat. “It's taking a lot of restraint not to take your underwear off, just so you know.” He pecked Nico on the cheek. “Maybe we should start looking for some condoms.”

“And lube,” Nico mumbled.

Nico felt Will grin aganist his shoulder. “So you are open to the idea of having sex with me?”

“Eventually.” Nico rolled away from the blond. “Maybe if you're lucky.”

Will tugged at the waistband of Nico's boxer-briefs. “Don't I get a goodnight kiss?”

Rolling his eyes, Nico turned his head to face the blond. Will leaned in and pressed their lips together. The blond kept it innocent, but it still managed to take Nico's breath away. When Will pulled away, Nico caught himself trying to lean in for another. He let out a small groan and turned away from the blond yet again. This was becoming a problem.

This was why he wasn't sure if he should go through with having some fun with Will. Because, eventually, they would have to part ways. And the closer they were, the harder it would be for Nico to walk away.

\------------------------------

The next day, instead of trying to find a new route, Will had dragged Nico to the local convenience store. Their objective? Condoms and lube. Nico just rolled his eyes as Will picked out a few boxes of condoms. While he did that, Nico poked around the pharmacy.

Most of it had been raided, but there was still a few things they could use. As he was inspecting a bottle, something fell in the back room. Furrowing his brow, Nico peered around the shelf. The door was slightly ajar, though it was too dark to see inside. Slowly, Nico pulled his gun from his back pocket and crept towards the door.

He pushed the door open and pointed his gun. Nico glanced at Will for a moment. The blond was crouched down, inspecting a bottle of lube. Rolling his eyes, Nico pushed the door open all the way and stepped forward.

The room was dark and the light from the sun coming in from the windows at the front of the store really didn't help any, but Nico was able to make out some metal shelves filled with boxes. He stepped further inside, only stopping when a medical bottle rolled against his foot. Glancing around, Nico wasn't able to see anything. The room was dead silent.

Letting out a breah he had been holding, Nico crouched down to pick up the bottle. With a grunt, he tossed it over his shoulder. Except, it hit something else before the ground. Nico slowly turned around as he heard a growl from behind him.

A man, around his height, now stood between him and the door. It was too dark to see his eyes, but Nico had a very strong feeling that they were bloodshot. A chunk of the man's shoulder was missing, as well as one of his fingers on his left hand.

Before Nico could even lift his gun, the zombie jumped on him. “Will!” Nico screamed as he rolled across the ground with the infected man.

In a moment of panic, Nico squeezed the trigger of his gun, firing a bullet into the center of the man's chest. That didn't stop him. The man snapped his teeth at Nico's face, while the boy beneath him struggled to keep the zombie as far away as possible.

“Nico?” Will yelled out, and the boy could hear the blond's footsteps quickly nearing.

The raven haired boy bent his knee and pushed his foot against the infected man's stomach. With all his strength, Nico sent the man tumbling off of him. The problem was that the infected man didn't even seem stunned. He crawled across the floor, grabbing onto Nico's leg.

At some point, the gun had fallen out of Nico's hand. The boy's eyes widened as he quickly tried to reach for it, but the zombie merely dragged him away by the leg. The door hit the wall as Will came barreling into the room. With wide eyes, Will wasted no time in pulling out his knife.

Everything happened so fast. Will dove forward and stuck the knife into the side of the zombie's head at the same time that Nico let out a loud scream. Pain coursed through Nico's leg as the man's body crumbled on him.

Fear quickly rose in Nico's eyes as Will pulled the knife out of the zombie's head and offered Nico a hand. “Sorry, I didn't want to shoot it. I was afraid I might have-” He blinked. “What's wrong?”

Nico winced as he pried the man's head off of his leg. His pants had been ripped and half a bite mark could now be seen. The zombie had been determined, Nico would give it that. Gulping, he chanced a glance up at Will.

Will yanked the corpse off of Nico and tossed it to the side. His face paled as he took in the sight of Nico's injury. “Oh God,” the blond whispered. “Nico, I'm sorry. I shouldn't...” He swallowed a lump in his throat. “I should have been faster.”

Every fiber of Nico's being was telling him to run, but he couldn't move. Would Will even let him run? “It's not your fault,” he replied, looking down.

Will's face hardened as he gripped the knife tight in his hand. He pushed Nico down, while trying to work his belt off at the same time. “Don't worry.”

“What are you doing?” Nico practically screamed as Will moved the knife to his leg.

Will blinked. “Cutting it off.”

“Does that even work?”

Will's brow furrowed. “I don't know, but it's better than you dying.”

Nico shoved him away and jumped to his feet, stumbling a little. He tried to get to the door, but he now had a limp. With a sigh, Nico picked up his gun and faced the blond. “You're not cutting my leg off.” His eyes hardened and gripped the gun tightly. “You're not going to touch me.”

“Nico,” Will whispered, “you've been bitten.” The blond's grip tightened around his knife. “I don't want you to be one of those things, and I don't think you want to be one either.” He tried to move forward and grab Nico, but the boy jerked away.

“Don't touch me,” Nico hissed. Raising his gun at Will, Nico backed out of the doorway. “I don't need my leg cut off, I'll be fine.”

“Nico.”

“Shut up,” Nico growled. His eyes were still ablaze as he yanked the side of his shirt down, exposing his upper arm to the blond's eyes.

Will's brow furrowed as he stepped into the main part of the store. Nico didn't let him too close, just close enough to see the scar. “Is that...?”

“A bite-mark.” Nico jerked his shirt back up. “I got it on the night of the outbreak.”

Blue eyes widened in surprise. “But you're-”

“Not infected,” Nico muttered, glancing off to the side. The hand with the gun fell to his side, though he kept backing towards the exit. “I'm immune, I guess.” He let out a dry chuckle. “Lucky me, right?” He cleared his throat. “You're going the rest of the way to the camp without me.”

“What?” Will took a step closer, but Nico raised his gun again. “Nico, you can't-”

“They'll kill me,” Nico hissed. His hands shook as he tried to keep the gun aimed at Will. “As soon as they see the scar, they will shoot me. And if they don't, what then? I get to spend the rest of my life as some science experiment? Are you going to let them dissect me for some experiment?”

Will pressed his lips together. “You can't seriously want to go back out there on your own.” His voice was soft and he tried to step closer, but Nico just backed away. “Stay with me, please.”

A dry laugh escaped from Nico's throat. “Why, so you can try to cut off my leg some more? Or maybe you'll just put a bullet through my head while I'm sleep, you know, just to be safe.”

“Nico, I wouldn't do that.” Will's voice was pleading now. Nico could see the panic in those blue eyes as Nico neared the exit. “I was trying to help you. I didn't want to lose you. I'd rather lose your leg than lose you.”

The brown-eyed boy shook his head. “No.” He lowered his gun, stepping through the broken glass of the exit door. “You're better off going to the camp. I'm leaving, and I'll put a bullet through your leg if you try and stop me.”

Will took a step forward. “You wouldn't.”

As if to prove a point, Nico moved the gun two inches to the right and shot at the ground. Will's body tensed up. With a final glare, Nico turned around and walked over to their car. Jerking the back door open, Nico pulled out his backpack.

He took a step before coming to a stop. “The next shot will be through your leg.”

And with that, Nico took off in a run. He could feel the tears building up in his eyes, but he kept running. He didn't know where he was going to go, but Nico wanted to get as far away as possible. It was better this way. He kept repeating that to himself. Maybe if he said it enough, he would believe it.

“Nico. Nico, wait! Nico!”

He heard Will calling after him for several blocks, but eventually the blond's voice faded away. Nico slid into an alley and slid down against the bricks to catch his breath. Nico buried his face into his knees, finally letting the tears come out. Even if it was sooner than Nico had planned, this still hurt. Why did he have to care about the blond?

\--------------------------

Nico waited until he heard the car crank and drive off before he left the alleyway. Pursing his lips, Nico looked around. He let out a sigh and rubbed his arm. Perhaps it wasn't the best thought out plan. Now, Nico was stuck walking. And with a world full of infected zombies, that wasn't really the ideal situation.

Still, Nico had done it before, so perhaps he could do it again. Not that it made the situation any better.

Nico spent a good hour or two looking around the town for a working car. Unfortunately, all of the cars that were still there were being used as barricades, and none of them even looked close to being in working condition. Nico let out a sigh. He didn't really have much to drink either.

He had been smart enough to pack some food in his backpack, just in case the two of them had to get separated. Will hadn't minded, the blond had even said it was a smart idea. In truth, Nico already felt cold. It was like the mere thought of being away from Will's warmth left him with a chill. Well, that and the fact that it was actually cold.

Nico looked down at his feet as he took off walking. He really didn't care where he was going, just as long as it was away from Will. He just hoped that the blond actually went to the camp. He would, right? Nico wasn't worth the energy, Will would surely give up quickly and move on.

Unfortunately, Nico just couldn't seem to catch a break today. He had hiked the rest of the day, following along the side of the rode, but now the sun was threatening to set. Nico sighed and looked around. He was too far away from the town to go back now, and there didn't seem to be anything coming up on the way he was going. Nico chewed on his lip as his eyes roamed over to the nearby woods. He was just not in a good place right now.

He felt alone.

Shaking his head, Nico kept walking. Maybe he wouldn't run into any zombies. It was a very slim chance, but he could still dream.

As the last light of the sun was in the air, Nico reached a road sign. Someone had come along and used some red spray paint on it, the words “Shelter” covering the entire sign. Underneath it was a red arrow pointing to the right, directly into the woods.

Nico's stomach sank. Did he really want to go into the woods, in the dark? The sun probably wouldn't even be up another thirty minutes, and Nico had no idea how far this “shelter” even was. If it was still there at all.

Glancing down at his leg, Nico frowned. He'd need to hide his wound first. Taking his backpack off of his shoulders, Nico pulled out his other pair of pants. Quickly changing, Nico slid the torn ones into his backpack. It was best to take his chances with the shelter, Nico told himself. He would just stay until the sun came up, then he'd be on his way again.

As Nico came to the edge of the woods, he stopped. This was not safe, he knew that, but it was his best shot. Being out in the open at night was practically suicide. Glancing over his shoulder, Nico's expression fell. He had hoped Will would be standing there with the car, waiting for Nico to get inside. Nico hated to say it, but he felt the safest with Will.

But this was for the best. If Nico had stuck around, he and Will would have only gotten more attached to each other. Nico might not have let himself walk away. Or worse, Will wouldn't have gone to the camp. The last thing Nico wanted was for Will to have to wander around for the rest of his life, never truly being safe.

Will wasn't there, though. Nico was back to being alone, wandering around aimlessly.

Letting out a sigh, Nico set forth into the woods. He rubbed lightly at his arm, a faint chill running across him. His jacket had been left back in the car, completely forgotten in Nico's haste. And now Nico would just have to suffer for that mistake.

Nico winced as he walked, the searing pain of the bite coursing through his leg. He might not turn because of it, but the damn thing still hurt like hell. Nico really wished he had some of Will's medical supplies right now; some painkillers would be amazing.

Finding this “shelter” proved to be rather difficult, as Nico was quickly learning. The woods were near impossible to navigate, and now it was hard to see anything at all due to the loss of the sun. Every little sound caused the boy to jump. What if there was a zombie out here? Nico wouldn't be able to see it until the thing was practically on top of him.

Exhaustion was also beginning to set in. Nico had walked for most of the day, with little food, and now his body simply wanted to collapse. He was going to die out here. Perhaps it was for the best. At least then the constant fear of survival would be over. He wouldn't have to fun anymore. Nico could be with his family again.

With that thought in his head, Nico fell to his knees. This was hopeless. His hand reached back to rest on his gun. If he had to go, it would be through his own choice. It was a harsh truth, but Nico was not about to let those things rip him apart. If he had to die, Nico wanted it to be as painlessly as possible.

Letting his head fall back, Nico opened his eyes. He had to blink a few times, uncertain of what he saw.

There, in the distance, was a house. Or, rather, a light coming from a house. It seemed so foreign to him. But there was definitely a lit house up ahead.

As he drew near to it, Nico discovered that it did, in fact, have lights on inside. They must have a generator somewhere. Several, if the place was still powered a year after the outbreak. Letting out a breath, Nico smiled and headed towards the house. His stomach growled as his nose picked up on the smell of food cooking.

Real food. Not something canned that he had to eat cold, but real food. His mouth watered at the mere thought of it.

Slowly walking up the steps of the front porch, Nico came to a stop in front of an old, wooden door. Gulping, Nico reached a hand up and knocked on the door. Inside, Nico heard some shuffling around, followed by a woman yelling for the “idiots” to get the door.

Frowning, Nico glanced around the side of the house. There was a rectangular barn off to the side, a padlock on the doors. The building looked rather rusted, in Nico's opinion. He was so busy looking at it, that when the door opened, Nico jumped.

Standing in front of him were two rather large men with weapons in their hands.

The one on the left had a shaved head and beady blue eyes. Not warm and bright like Will's, they reminded Nico more of murky water. His arms were very hairy, both lined with tattoos. He had a bit of an overbite. The man was clad in a pair of overalls, no shirt, unfortunately. In his hands was a shotgun.

The man on the right looked a little less threatening. He had a goofy smile on his face as he lightly hit the hammer in his hand against his palm. Like the other man, he too had hairy arms. His eyes were a dark brown color, and his hair was a messy blond.

“Who is it?” The woman that Nico had heard outside called from the kitchen. The smell caused Nico's stomach to growl.

“Some kid,” the first man grumbled, rubbing his chin. “Looks scrawny.”

The woman appeared in the doorway of the kitchen a moment later, dusting her hands on an apron. She had wide green eyes that rested behind a pair of glasses. Her hair was a greasy black color, done up in curls. Underneath her apron was an ugly blue muumuu with white flowers on it.

“Oh, sweetie, you look like you're freezing out there,” she said sweetly. “Come in, come in.”

The two men stepped aside and Nico slowly walked inside. Once Nico was in the house, the man on the left locked and bolted the door. He wedged a thick plank of wood underneath the doorknob. Nico chewed on his lip as his eyes roamed over to the kitchen. There was a large pot on the stove, steam pouring out of the top. Nico's stomach growled again.

“You must be starving,” the woman said, stepping back into the kitchen. “Torque, go fetch me some salsa from the pantry.”

The man on the left hurried into the kitchen. “Yes, mama.”

Nico awkwardly stood there, until the woman took notice of him again. “Come sit at the table, dearie.” Nico did as he was told. She stirred the pot, adding some salt every now and then. He wasn't sure what she was cooking, but it smelled like meat. Nico's stomach growled at the mere thought of it. It had been so long since he had eaten something made of meat. “Were you wandering around out there all by yourself?”

It took Nico a moment to realize she had been speaking to him. “Yes, ma'am,” he mumbled.

“He has manners, too.” She sent Nico a small smile. “You can call me, Ma Gasket, dear. And those two lumps are my sons, Sump and Torque.”

Nico fought the urge to laugh. What ridiculous names to give your children. But she was offering him shelter, so Nico kept his expression blank. The smell of meat was beginning to make him lightheaded. He was so hungry. He had declined lunch and breakfast today, much to Will's disapproval.

“That smells really good,” the boy muttered, his mouth practically watering.

“Doesn't it?” Ma Gasket smiled, stirring the pot as she added the salsa that Torque had brought her. “We don't get to dine this well very often.” She hummed lightly for a moment before speaking again. “Sump.”

Nico's brow furrowed as he heard the man come up behind him. Turning around, Nico got to see the butt of the shotgun aimed at his face. Right before it hit him in the head. As everything went dark, Nico's body fell out of the chair and crumpled to the floor.

Nico groaned as he sat up on the cold ground. He blinked a few time, his vision slightly dazed. There were iron bars all around him, dirt and hay littering the floor of his new prison. There was a bucket of water and a small cup floating inside of it to his left.

His best guess was that he was in the barn. The moonlight came in from a broken window on the other side of the barn, dimly illuminating the place. A lot of metal chains hung from the ceiling, lightly rattling. Nico frowned as he crawled to the edge of his cage. On the other side of the barn was a long table with a meat cleaver. Not only that, but quite a few tools hung above it. Even worse, Nico could see dark splotches on the table and around the nearby area. Was that blood?

Nico's hands began to shake as they gripped the bars. His mind just had a sickening thought. They weren't... In the pot, was that...

Nico felt sick. However, his fears were confirmed when he spotted a bucket in the corner, filled with bones and, what looked like, human skin. Nico's stomach lurched and he quickly threw up what little was in his stomach.

When he heard some shuffling in the hay behind him, Nico quickly pressed himself against the iron bars and peered into the darkness.

Behind a bale of hay came a hand, followed by the rest of the body. Due to the poor lighting, Nico was unable to make out the face. However, since the moonlight was on him, Nico felt very exposed to whoever was in the cage with him. Oh God, did they have him locked up with a zombie?

The figure crawled closer. Nico was about ready to kick whoever it was, until the thing spoke.

“Nico?”

The raven haired boy frozen. Why did he know that voice? It was familiar, like from a dream. No, not a dream. Nico's eyes widened as realization hit him. But it couldn't be. There was no way.

And then the figure crawled into the light, exposing his face to Nico's eyes. His face was covered in dirt and his hair was a disheveled mess, but Nico still recognized him. He still had his athletic figure and beautiful eyes.

Nico slowly relaxed against the bars, reaching out to touch the face in front of him. It was real. He gulped. “Percy?”


	6. Out of the Fire and into the Frying Pan

For a long time, Percy just sat in front of Nico and stared at the boy with his legs crossed. Nico waited patiently for the green-eyed teenager to say something, anything. However, when Percy finally did speak, Nico remembered that intelligence was not this guy's strength.

“So, are you like some kind of intelligent zombie?”

Nico gave him a disbelieving look before he rolled his eyes. “Really? That's the first thing you could think of?” The brown-eyed boy ran a hand through his hair. “Nice to see you, too, Percy.”

“Uh, sorry.” Percy rubbed the back of his neck. There was a small cut on his forehead, probably from being knocked out. He let out a small chuckle as he brought his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. “What are the chances of us running into each other, huh?”

Nico gave the other teenage boy a dull look. “I suppose we're just lucky,” he mumbled sarcastically.

Apparently, it went over Percy's head. “I wouldn't exactly call this lucky.”

“I-” Nico let out a sigh. “Never mind. What happened to you? You by yourself?”

Percy shook his head. “Well, I am at the moment, but I have a group.” A faint smile appeared on his lips. “We were up in New York.”

Nico's eyebrows shot up. “Really? We-I was heading up that way.” Nico felt a pain in his chest, remembering that he had left Will. That had probably been his worst mistake right now, seeing as he wouldn't be stuck in this mess if he hadn't left the blond. Nico blinked when something hit him. “Wait, did you say you were in New York? Doing a supply run?” He pursed his lips. “That's pretty far from here.”

“Uh, not exactly.” Percy looked down, rubbing the back of his neck. “The refugee camp there kind of got overrun.” Those sea-green eyes filled with pain as Percy's shoulders slumped. “We lost a lot of people.” He let out a sigh. “The man leading the camp had wanted to clear out Manhattan, but all that ended up doing was leading the infected back to camp.”

A hole opened up in the pits of Nico's stomach. Will was probably on his way there, and now there wasn't even a camp there. Nothing but zombies. What if he got overrun? Nico swallowed a lump in his throat. “So, you just ran?”

Percy shook his hair, sending his dirty black locks into his eyes. “No, we were heading to another camp.” He let out a sigh. “There's supposed to be one out in California that we were going to.”

“Why didn't you just go to that one originally?”

The corner of Percy's lips tilted up. “I needed to find someone. My girlfriend, Annabeth. And, well, my family, too, of course. Couldn't forget them.” Percy gave a shrug. “We needed supplies, so some of us split up. I wound up passing through this way. I was hungry and cold. And, well, I'm sure you ended up running across the same sign that I did.”

Nico turned his attention to the bucket with body parts sticking out of it. “Was that someone with you?”

Percy's eyes widened a bit. “Oh, no.” His face turned a little green. “But they did...you know...prepare him while I was here.” He looked back to Nico. “What about you?”

“Alone,” Nico replied quickly. He chewed on his lip for a moment, staring absently at the bucket. “Thalia?”

Percy shook his head. Nico's brow furrowed. Those sea-green eyes widened a little as realization dawned on Percy. “Oh, she's not dead.” Percy rubbed his arm. “We made it to New York together, but she eventually joined this group of girls that were hellbent on eradicating as many of the infected as possible.” Percy stood up and walked over to a wall, where he leaned his head against the wall. “They weren't too far ahead of our refugee group, actually. Maybe someone will coming looking before they decide to cook us up.”

“Such a cheerful thought,” Nico muttered.

Percy smiled a little. “That's the spirit, Nico.”

Nico rolled his eyes. He was still a little bummed about learning that Percy had a girlfriend, which meant that Percy had always been dating since they first met. The boy wasn't really sure why this bothered him, perhaps he wasn't completely over Percy yet. Finding out that the guy was even still alive was a complete shock.

Thinking about it, Nico felt odd. If Percy's group hadn't needed to leave New York, Nico might have run into the green-eyed boy on his own. That was if Nico had not left Will when they were close to the camp. Nico's brow furrowed as he watched Percy. If Percy had been at the camp, Nico could have had Percy vouch for him. Now there were two people that could vouch for him, Nico reminded himself. Three, if Thalia showed up.

Now if they could just get out of here, perhaps there was some hope for Nico getting to settle down somewhere. Maybe if the camp in California held...

Nico let out a sigh. He couldn't think so far ahead. First, they needed to get out of here before they got eaten. Judging by the bars, this was not going to be an easy feat. Not to mention that these people seemed like the type to put traps down in the woods to help keep out zombies, or to help prevent their food from escaping. Nico made a face at that thought. People were weird.

As he sat there, Nico curled in on himself. Nico had not gone without at least one meal a day since he met Will. But as he sat there, trapped inside the barn, he had to wonder if he'd ever get another meal again. Nico curled his fingers into the hay beneath him. He hoped that he was a carrier of the virus, just so those bastards in the house would get infected when they ate him.

There was a faint rustling over where Percy was. Narrowing his eyes, Nico peered into the darkness. Percy was on his knees, using his fingers to dig around the wall of the barn. “What are you doing?” Nico hissed.

“Trying to make a hole.” Percy did not even bother to stop as he spoke.

“I don't think that'll be fast enough.” Nico's brow furrowed as he shifted closer. “How strong is the barn wall?”

Leaning on his side, Percy sent his foot flying into one of the plants that prevented their escape. “Not weak enough to knock down.” The green-eyed boy went back to digging. “Maybe I can pry some off when the hole is deeper.”

All that Percy was probably going to accomplish was losing his fingernails while trying to dig his way out. Nico let out a sigh and shifted over to where the bales of hay was. There was nothing else to do besides sleep. He could only hope those weirdos didn't come and take him in his sleep.

Laying down on his side, Nico curled up in a ball and wrapped his arms around himself. Why did he have to run off? If he had just stayed with Will, tried to figure something out, then Nico would have never gotten himself into this mess.

But at least he ran into Percy, right? They could now die together, like some tragic romance story. Except his feelings were unrequited. Pushing all these thoughts aside, Nico shut his eyes. No point in dwelling on it all. Perhaps, with some rest, he could help Percy figure a way out of this place.

Nico woke up at some point in the middle of the night when he felt something get put on top of him. He shot up in the darkness, nearly hitting Percy square in the head. “What are you doing?” He hissed.

Percy sat back, the long sleeve shirt he had on no longer covering his body. Instead, the old and worn orange shirt that had laid underneath was on full display. Nico frowned and looked down. Percy's long sleeve shirt had been draped over him.

Percy chuckled a little. “Sorry, you were shivering.” He sat down flat on his ass with a sigh. “I didn't really need it. I got some work done.”

Blinking a few times, Nico peered over Percy's shoulder. Sure enough, there was now a hole the size of a football where Percy had been digging. Some of the bottom of the barn wall had been torn away, letting in a little light from the outside.

Nico chewed on his lip and returned his attention back to Percy's face. “You should get some rest,” he said before rolling over.

Unfortunately, Percy wasn't about to let him get any rest. “I'm sorry about what happened.”

Nico stiffened. “We're not talking about this, Percy.”

“I let you down.” Percy scooted closer, which only made Nico tense more. “I couldn't protect your sister, and I'm sorry for that.”

“Can't change anything now. Just drop it, Percy.”

There was a brief silence before Percy said anything else. “You seem a lot more angry than a year ago.” The green-eyed boy finally moved into Nico's line of sight, pressing his back to the bale of hay. “You were a lot happier back then.” Even in the darkness, Nico could see the small smile on Percy's lips. “You were like this little brother that I always wanted.”

Nico's eyes darkened. Yeah, because that was exactly what Nico had always wanted Percy to view him as. Taking in a deep breath, Nico shut his eyes and tried to tune Percy out. The thought of having a last night on Earth situation with Percy did cross the boy's mind, but the green-eyed boy had also killed the mood with his last statement.

When he saw that Percy was about to open his mouth again, Nico let out a groan. “Percy, just get some sleep. We can talk more in the morning.”

Percy let out a sigh before running a hand through his hair. The older boy gave a nod and Nico shut his eyes. He really didn't plan on continuing their conversation tomorrow, but Percy did not need to know that. Right now, Nico really just wanted to be left alone.

\------------------------------

The morning light hit Nico's eyes in full force. The boy let out a groan and covered his eyes with his hand. After a few seconds, Nico blinked at the realization that there was was a small weight on his back.

At some point during the night, Nico had apparently rolled onto his stomach, and now Percy had his hand splayed across the middle of the younger boy's back. Speaking of said green-eyed boy, Nico got an eyeful of Percy upon opening his eyes.

Percy had fallen asleep next to Nico, a few inches separating them. Now that he had the sun, Nico could truly see how rough Percy really looked. The gash on Percy's forehead was a lot worse than when Nico had caught a glimpse of it last night. There was a good bit of dirt and blood covering the parts of the older boy's skin that Nico could see. His hands also looked pretty bad, though it was probably from trying to dig his way out last night. There was several cuts on the hand that Percy had on Nico's back, and part of the nail on his ring finger had broken off. 

A warmth radiated off of Percy's body. Not as warm as Will always was, but it did give Nico a little comfort away from the cold air that they were trapped out in. Nico sat up with a sigh, pushing Percy's arm off of him. Pulling his legs up to his chest, Nico inspected the hole again.

If they had some kind of tool, they might be able to make the hole big enough in a short amount of time. However, since they had no such luck, Percy and Nico were probably not going to be able to pull off an escape through this hole. As Percy had probably figured out last night, it was not so easy to dig in the ground as holes got deeper.

When the door to the barn swung open, Nico visibly jumped. Sump poked his head in with a grin before coming in all the way. Nico wrinkled his nose at the smell that the disgusting man brought with him. Sump brought in a new bucket, where he walked over and dumped its contents into the large bucket that Nico had noticed last night. Nico felt some bile rise in the pits of his stomach as a few fingers and bones dropped from the bucket that Sump carried. Well then, Nico was glad that they didn't feed him before knocking him out.

Sump kicked at the bars that held Percy and Nico inside. “Don't know what mama wants with you, you're just skin and bones.”

“Well, I suppose you could just let me go, seeing as how I would make a poor meal,” Nico drawled.

The man let out a grunt and headed for the door. “Don't worry kid, we'll find some meat to use from you.”

With that, the door slid shut again. Comforting, Nico thought to himself.

“Zombie apocalypses bring out the weirdos.”

Nico couldn't help but smile a little as he glanced down at Percy. “Seems like it.” He let out a sigh. “The number one thing I learned from watching zombie movies and playing the games: the people are always the more dangerous threat. Because zombies are predictable, they will always want to eat you. But people...you never really know if they will help you or stab you in the back.”

“Or try to eat you,” Percy added.

“Yes,” Nico replied, his eyes tracing the barn wall, “there's also that.”

Nico desperately wanted to find a way out of this place. He didn't really feel like being the cannibals' next meal. Somehow, the thought just didn't sound all that appealing. Unfortunately, the wall and the hole that Percy was making was probably their best bet. None of the bars were likely to give, and there wasn't a window to try and climb out of in their cell.

If Nico and Percy were lucky, the mother and her children wouldn't want to kill them for another meal in the next day or two. Perhaps they still had leftovers. A sickening thought, but at least it would buy them some time. Nico let out a breath. They would need to hide the hole, though. They were lucky that Sump hadn't noticed it a moment ago. But it was going to get deeper, which meant that it would be very visible as time went on.

Since there wasn't anything else to do, Nico got up and walked over to the wall. He sat down on his legs and raked his hands into the hole that Percy had made. No point in wasting time. Percy seemed to catch on and he too came over to help dig their escape route.

After what felt like an eternity, Nico collapsed next to the hole that he and Percy were working on. Percy stopped to look at him, reaching over to feel his head. Everything was spinning. Not only was Nico now starving, but he also felt dehydrated. This would slow them down. There was nothing they could do, though. There was nothing to eat or drink in their cell, and Nico doubted those deranged people in the house were going to spare supplies for boys about to supply their next few meals. Which meant that digging the hole was just going to get harder. However, at the moment, Nico wasn't sure he would even be able to sit up. He just wanted something to drink, anything at all.

Percy let out a sigh and went back to working on breaking parts of the barn wall, not that he seemed to be doing much better. Nico's dull eyes stared up at the green-eyed boy, who looked rather pale now. Percy had been there longer than him, and there was really no telling how long it had been that Percy had eaten or drank anything.

Eventually, Percy had to lean against the wall. Nico highly doubted they were going to be able to finish their escape route, not in their condition. Perhaps it would have been a better idea to catch one of their captors off-guard when one came to get Percy or Nico to chop up. Nico's head fell against the dirt, his eyes falling shut. His vision blurred briefly before his body went limp and Nico passed out on the ground.

When he finally woke up, Nico felt something firm pressing against his stomach. With a groan, Nico lifted his head and opened his eyes. The sun had already gone down and all Nico could really see was the ground a few feet beneath him. It took him a moment, but the boy soon realized that he was thrown over someone's shoulder. He wanted to hit and kick the person carrying him, but this limbs wouldn't cooperate. Nico didn't feel drugged, so perhaps it was just that he was still exhausted.

Rather harshly, Nico was dropped on the ground. Though his vision was still blurry, Nico was able to make out the form of Torque. The man grinned down at Nico as he opened up the door to a cellar at the side of the house. Once it was opened, he reached down and grabbed Nico by the scruff of his neck, dragging the boy down a flight of rickety stairs.

Torque threw Nico onto a table. Something very sharp jabbed into Nico's arm when he hit the table, causing the boy to hiss. Looking down, Nico found a knife sticking out of him. A deep laugh bellowed from Torque. “Oh, let me get that for you.” Rather harshly, the man ripped the knife from Nico's arm, drawing a whimper from Nico's throat.

Blood began to trickle onto the table. Pursing his lips, Nico turned his attention to Torque's ugly face. “You know, I'm practically just bones, I don't think I'd make a good meal.”

“Shut up,” Torque grumbled, his fist making contact with Nico's jaw.

Torque bound Nico's arms and legs to the table before walking over to a wall of saws, knives, and other sickening tools that should never be used in such ways on people. It made Nico sick to watch the man pick out the right saw, like he was shopping for clothes or something.

Nico's face paled when the man finally picked one out. Thrashing as much as he could, Nico tried to get off the table. “Wait, wait! I'm infected, you don't want eat me.”

That seemed to give the man reason to pause. Torque scratched his head for a moment before he grinned. “Don't be silly, meat, you'd have already turned and eaten the other meal if you was infected.”

Nico let his head fall back with a groan. Just his luck, he had a cannibal with at least some intelligence. As he continued to try and break free, all Nico managed to do was dig the bindings into his wrists. Fear rose in Nico's eyes as Torque stepped closer to him.

And then a gun went off.

Torque and Nico both looked up at the ceiling in confusion. A few seconds later, a second gunshot went off. Torque scratched his head before putting down the saw. Nico, however, had his attention on a new figure that was slowly descending the stairs.

Right as Torque turned around, the new figure lifted a shotgun and blasted the man right in the chest. Torque hit the wall, his body slumping lifelessly. Nico stared at the dead cannibal with a surprised expression. He let out a sigh and looked up at his savior, who stepped under the light that was lightly swinging above his head.

Nico had never seen him before, though that really didn't matter at the moment. The man was not as burly as Slump or Torque, though he did have muscular arms. A flannel shirt and jacket covered his upper half, while some old jeans and boots could be found from his waist down. His brown hair had been cut short, and there was even a small scar on his left cheek.

“Thank you,” Nico breathed. “Thank you so much, he was going to chop me up and eat me.”

The man put his gun down beside the table that Nico was on, silently inspecting the boy. His finger swiped over the knife wound on Nico's arm before reaching up to grab Nico's jaw and get a better look at the bound boy on the table. A cold grin spread across the guy's lips.

“Don't thank me just yet, kid.”

“Wha-”

Nico's words caught in his throat as the man's hand moved down to the button on his pants. The man worked on unbuttoning Nico's pants, as the boy began to thrash about on the table. “It's been a long time since me and the boys had any real attention. Maybe you're not a girl, but you're pretty enough to do.” He clamped a hand down on Nico's mouth. “Now be quiet, I'd like my turn with you before the others find you.”

Nico scrunched his eyes shut as he felt the man's calloused hand drag down his jeans and underwear. A second later, a dirty rag was shoved into Nico's mouth. The bindings around Nico's legs were cut, and Nico felt bile rise in the pits of his stomach. This wasn't happening. How could he have such bad luck?

The man grabbed Nico's jaw again. “Open your eyes, kid, I want to see the fear in your eyes.”

As tears streamed down Nico's cheeks, he opened his eyes and stared into the face of the brunet that was about to rape him. Only, yet another figure was now in the room. Nico's eyes widened a little as he recognized the short girl that grinned down at him from behind the man.

The man's brow furrowed as he slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder. As realization slowly dawned on the brunet's face, Thalia brought down a wrench against the guy's head. Nico let out a yelp as the man's body crumbled and fell on top of him. As Thalia untied him, a lot more yelling began upstairs and outside.

Nico slowly pulled up his pants as he looked at the ceiling in confusion. “What-”

“Wow, I never thought I'd be seeing you again, little man,” Thalia grinned. She squinted at him for a moment. “I see you're not a zombie.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Yes, let's focus on that right now.”

A chuckle escaped the girl. “Nice to see you, Nico.” 

“How did you find me?” Nico blinked. “Percy's-”

“We know.” Thalia smiled and cupped a hand to her mouth. “Area's secured, he can come down now.”

Nico blinked in confusion at the girl. The stairs creaked, drawing Nico's attention. His eyes widened as a blond head of hair came into sight. Butterflies rose in Nico's stomach as Will shot past two girls and came over to the table.

With a soft smile, he lightly touched Nico's cheek. A second later, Will pulled out a jacket, Nico's jacket, and handed it to the boy. “You forgot your jacket.”

Resisting the urge to smack the idiot, Nico instead wrapped his arms around Will's neck and pulled the blond into a tight hug. “What are you doing here?”

After getting the jacket onto Nico, the blond looked down. “I-” Will began, but Thalia cut him off.

“We need to go,” the raven haired girl said. She glanced at the other two girls. “What about the other boy? Dark hair, green eyes, has a dopey look on his face?”

“He's fine,” a girl with red hair replied. “The others are getting him out of here.”

Thalia gave a nod before she turned back to Nico and Will. “Well, we should get a move on as well.” She tapped the foot of the man she had just knocked out. “We don't want to be around when they wake up.”

Will pulled back, but Nico quickly reached out and took his hand. The blond looked down at him and smiled. He squeezed Nico's hand before helping the boy off of the table. The group made their way out of the cellar, where Nico followed them into the woods.

They did not get far before they heard angry shouting from behind them. “Run!” Thalia ordered as she took off.

The girls sprinted after Thalia, but Nico was in no condition to run. He would have fallen over, if Will hadn't caught him. The blond wasted no time in crouching down and allowing Nico to climb onto his back. Will took off running as fast as he could as a gunshot went off somewhere behind them.

It was so dark in the woods. Will stumbled a few times, but he refused to let Nico off of his back. Will sounded out of breath. Nico truly had to wonder how Will and Thalia had found him, but he wasn't going to complain. It meant that Will hadn't gone on without him. Unfortunately, the blond managed to ruin Nico's mood by opening his mouth.

“At least there aren't any-”

As if they heard him, an cry from an infected rang out through the woods. Nico tightened his arms around the blond's neck in annoyance. “Shut up, Solace,” he grumbled.

Will took a firm grip on Nico's legs and went running as fast as he could. Nico jumped a little when he heard screams behind him, followed soon after by gunshots. Nico let out a yelp as Will came to a quick halt. Thalia had stopped, looking around. “Those idiots are going to bring more zombies through here if they don't stop shooting.”

“We need to keep going,” the red haired girl pointed out.

Thalia gave a quick nod. “Right, sorry, Phoebe.”

Will followed after Thalia and the other two girls as they ran through the woods. Nico's head began to droop against the blond's shoulder, his lack of nourishment catching up to him again. Unable to help himself, Nico blacked out.

The next thing Nico knew, some water was being forced down his throat. Nico choked a little and coughed. But before the cup could be pulled away, Nico grabbed onto the wrist that held it and brought it back to his mouth. His dark eyes slowly opened, where they focused on the blond head of hair that was in front of him.

Will smiled a little and poured some more water for him. Nico took the cup for himself and downed it within the next second. A warm hand ran through Nico's hair and a pair of lips pressed against Nico's temple. With the hand that wasn't holding the cup, Nico grabbed onto Will's jacket and held on tightly.

After a second, Nico looked around. He was sitting in the back of a van, while several girls loaded up their weapons. Percy was not far away, busy talking with Thalia. The two glanced in his direction, which meant that they were probably discussing him. If Nico had to guess, it was about the fact that Nico was not among the infected.

Will held out an energy bar for him. Nico took it before letting his head fall against the blond's shoulder. Will wrapped an arm around him before taking the cup and filling it up with more water. “I'm glad you're okay,” the blond whispered as he handed the water back to Nico.

After taking a quick bite, Nico looked up at the blond. “How did you even find me?”

“Well,” Will began, “I tried looking for you after you ran off.” He squeezed Nico tighter. “I went back to where we had been staying, hoping you would turn up eventually. Unfortunately, you didn't. So, I came looking around the outskirts. I just... I wasn't sure which way you had gone, so I was afraid I'd pick the wrong direction. I was scared that I would never see you again.”

Nico reached down and gave Will's hand a squeeze. He had never been so happy to see the boy in his life. “I'm sorry,” the raven haired boy whispered.

Will let out a breath. “Well, I came across that sign on the road, so I figured you might have seen it if you had come through that way.” Will kissed Nico's temple. “Then I bumped into these girls, and that Thalia girl said she was looking for a friend as well.” He blinked in confusion. “You know her?”

Nico slowly nodded, his eyes drifting to where Thalia and Percy stood. “Long story, we'll talk about it later.”

Will didn't look too happy about it, but he nodded anyways. “I'm just glad I found you.” He stood up. “We're going to be traveling with them for a while. Your friend, Percy, he's supposed to be meeting up with the rest of the camp from New York, but it seems that Thalia and the other girls aren't going to stick around. Something about meeting up with their leader. Anyways, I offered to give Percy a lift.” The blond ran a hand through his hair. “It just sucks, because I really wanted to settle down at that camp.”

“I told you,” Nico whispered, “things like that are just a dream.”

“Yeah, but there's hope in California,” Percy said, suddenly standing beside Will. He grinned down at Nico. “Glad you made it.” Reaching down, Percy picked a piece of hay out of Nico's hair. “I guess we'll be traveling buddies for a while. We can have singalongs and everything.”

For a moment, Will just stood there, staring at Nico, who now had a faint blush in his cheeks from when Percy had touched him. But then he just smiled over at Percy. “Glad to have you along then.” He tapped Nico's foot with his own. “This one is just no fun for car rides.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “I'd rather ride in the trunk, where maybe I won't have to hear either of you.”

Thalia walked up to them and slid her hands into the pockets of her silver jacket. “He's your problem now, Nico.” She gave Percy a small shove when the green-eyed boy gave her a pout. “Go find your girlfriend, idiot, I'm sure she's worried about you.” She let out a sigh and turned to Will. “I need you to tell his girlfriend, Annabeth, that we'll be meeting them in California. Don't rely on Percy to relay this to her, because he'll probably forget.”

“Hey!” Percy whined.

“Shut up, you know it's true,” Nico said with a roll of his eyes.

Thalia smiled down at him. “And take care of this one.” She then gave Will a serious look. “Just incase you don't know-”

“He's immune to infection,” Will smiled. He ran a hand through Nico's hair. “I know.”

Thalia nodded in response. “Good, just making sure. I mean, I didn't know until I found him, but I just wanted to make sure you knew. Don't need you freaking out and trying to shoot him like I did.”

Will gave Nico a confused look. Nico gave him a look that reminded the blond that they would talk about it later. “Yeah, it's kind of why we got separated,” Will explained. “Not that I tried to shoot him, but he got bitten. Ran off before I could stop him.”

Thalia chuckled. “He has a habit of doing that.” She nudged Nico with her foot, her eyes still on Will. “Keep an eye on him.” She started to walk off, though she turned around and addressed them again. “I'd recommend telling the group when you meet up with them, so they won't be surprised if Nico gets bitten again.”

Will gave a nod and helped Nico out of the van. The girls loaded up, while the three boys stood and watched. After they drove off, Will led Percy and Nico over to where he had parked the car that he and Nico had been using. Percy tried to call shotgun, but Nico just fixed the green-eyed boy with a look and slid into the passenger seat. Normally, Nico wouldn't have minded being in the back seat, but he really just wanted to be close to his blond idiot at the moment.

Will, who had just cranked the car, gave him a surprised look as Nico reached over and took his hand. A small smile crept onto Will's lips as he squeezed Nico's hand. Nico glanced back at Percy, who didn't even seem to be paying attention to them. Letting his head fall back, Nico closed his eyes and squeezed the blond's hand again. As Nico drifted off into a deep sleep, Will drove off into the night, heading back towards Dayton.


	7. An Incident to Change Everything

Two days in a car with Percy and Will, Nico managed to remember why he wasn't much of a people person. He felt his eye twitch as he stared out the window, his hands pressed tightly against his ears. It didn't help that the two other boys knew that they were getting on his nerves and were now just trying to antagonize him with their obnoxious singing.

He hadn't minded it at first, when it was just Will. The blond didn't have the voice of an angel or a professional singer, but it was at least pleasing to listen to. But then Percy had decided to join in, and somehow Nico was reminded of a dying whale. When Nico had complained, Will had just started to sing in a similar manner.

“There isn't even any music!” Nico complained as the two other boys went into their fifth consecutive song.

From the backseat, Percy reached forward and squeezed his shoulders. “No need to be a buzzkill,” the green-eyed boy chuckled. “Just trying to lighten the mood.”

Nico glanced over at Will, who was giving him an odd look. The brown-eyed boy frowned. Something was bothering the blond, though Will had not said anything to Nico yet. Still, it was obvious that something was different ever since they found each other again.

And, well, Nico hadn't really let himself be alone with Will since their little reunion. He wasn't mad at the blond, it was just that Nico was a little scared of what he was feeling towards said blond. During his imprisonment by the cannibals, Nico had realized how much he did not want to be separated from Will. Which would be a problem, if the camp in California was somehow still going and they decided to turn him away.

“We should find a place to stay for the night,” Will mumbled, turning his attention back to the road.

Nico let out a sigh and looked back out the window. He didn't know exactly where they were, but Percy said the group from New York was supposed to meet back up near Topeka, Kansas. Which should have been easy to get to, if the roads weren't so bad. Yesterday, they had to turn around and drive three hours in the opposite direction to get around a destroyed bridge. The day before that, they encountered another car graveyard blocking their path. After scavenging for supplies, the group had turned around and found another road.

Percy and Will had alternated driving for the most part, though neither of them gave Nico the option to drive some. After their setback, the three of them had just decided to drive for as much as possible, while still stopping each night. There was just too many risks for driving at night.

Once again, Percy leaned forward, but this time it was to point to a road sign. “Looks like a town up ahead. Maybe we could stop there.”

“Depends on how big it is,” Will sighed.

A huge grin appeared on Percy's face. “That's what she said, dude.”

Letting out a groan, Nico sank into his seat. This was going to be a long drive. Why couldn't he just go back to having one annoying attractive guy to be around?

When they arrived in the town, Nico wasn't sure he would be eating that night. Decayed bodies lined some of the streets to the point that Will had to turn around and find another road. It wasn't until they stumbled upon a high school that Will actually stopped the car.

“Why are we stopping?” Nico asked.

Will leaned over towards Nico, his eyes on the school building. “Looks like they tried to set up a survival center here.”

There were a lot of signs that indicated as such, but the place looked deserted. Windows had been shot out, like someone had come through and fired an auto rifle. There were bodies littering most of the grass in front of the school building, which just made Nico want to remain in the car. But then Will went ahead and shut off the car.

Nico's brow furrowed as his head jerked around to look at the blond, his arm shooting out to grab Will's wrist. “What are you doing?”

Will just blinked at him. “We should look for survivors.”

Desiring some help, Nico turned to Percy, but the green-eyed boy was already out of the car as well. Nico sighed before he let go of the blond and opened up his car door. His eyes eventually landed on a army truck that had been parked at the end of the street. His brow furrowed. If the truck had been left here—and if the bullet holes everywhere were anything to go by—Nico could only assume that the military had ultimately failed to try to contain the virus here.

Well no shit, since the entire planet was infected.

Realization soon hit Nico that he was the only one left standing at the car. “Come back here!” He hissed at the other two. Growling to himself when neither of them paid attention to him, the brown-eyed boy jogged after the older boys. “How much longer until we meet up with your group anyways?”

Percy finally glanced down at him. “We could probably reach it by tomorrow.” His eyes flickered over to where Will was peering inside the door. “Don't you think, Will?”

“Yeah, probably.” Will slowly opened the door, which caused the remaining glass to shatter. The blond winced, slowly turning to face Nico and Percy. Nico, for his part, shot the blond a dirty look. This was a dumb idea. “Who wants to go first?”

As Nico took a step forward, two hands shot forward and grabbed the back of his shirt. “Not you,” Percy and Will said quickly.

“I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself!” Nico snapped, jerking free from his two oppressors. “I'll have you both know that I survived just fine on my own after I ran away from you.” He jabbed Percy in the stomach. “And I was doing just fine before I ran into you.” He fixed the blond beside Percy with a glare.

Will rolled his eyes. “Clearly. That's why you were about to be devoured by zombies, right?”

Taking in a sharp breath, Nico practically right in Will's face. “I'm immune, jerk!”

“Not to being made into a zombie's next meal.”

Even with all of this glares and protests, neither Percy or Will would let Nico be the first to enter the building. The youngest boy followed in behind the two of them, sulking with his arms crossed over his chest. Though, once inside, Nico was completely fine with not being the first to enter.

Rotting corpses littered the halls, while others were curled up inside some of the classrooms. Nico felt like he might gag, quickly covering his nose and mouth. The smell was overwhelming. He quickly looked up at Will, who had an arm over his own nose. Nobody was going to be hiding out in here, at least nobody with any sense.

Will tugged on Percy's arm and the three of them headed back out the door. Once they emerged, Nico bent over and began to cough, the stench of death still burning in his nostrils. Well, it was safe to say that Nico would not be eating tonight.

“Well,” Percy coughed, “at least we haven't seen any infected around.” Nico tossed him a dirty look for that comment.

Will just smiled down at Nico, ruffling the boy's hair. “Perhaps they don't like rotting flesh?”

Nico let out a sigh as he rubbed at his nose, still trying to get rid of the smell. “Well, it is going to suck for them when we are all dead.”

Will hummed as he followed the brown-eyed boy back to the car. “If they even die out naturally. Perhaps they can live for seventy or so years, like a normal human lifespan.”

Percy looked rather pale at that comment. “Let's hope that is not the case, yeah?”

The good news was that Percy seemed to be right about the infected, there didn't seem to be any in town. Will theorized that they picked most of the town clean, and then left when the last uninfected was taken by the virus. It just made Nico wonder what drove those things in the first place. Aside from hunger, since that one was obvious.

They ended up settling down for the night at the edge of the town, in a house that looked suitable. Percy and Will made sure all the windows and doors were covered and secure, while Nico unpacked their things from the car. However, there was only two bedrooms. With a huff, Nico dropped his bag on the couch.

It did not stay there long. Will reached down and picked it up before carrying the backpack into the room Nico had dropped his things in. Nico narrowed his eyes and followed after the blond, shutting the door behind them so that Percy wouldn't hear anything.

“And what do you think you're doing?” The brown-eyed boy asked, irritation lining his voice.

Will just blinked back at him. “You don't want to sleep on a bed?” He grinned a little. “Besides, you'd be safer in here.”

“Not safe from you.”

Will's grin only grew. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Nico's waist. “I don't believe you've ever complained before.” A completely fake pout slowly crept across the blond's lips as he nuzzled against Nico's head. “You haven't missed sleeping in the same bed as me?”

“Stop,” Nico whined, shoving Will off.

Letting out a sigh, Will ran a hand through his messy blond hair. “I feel like you've been avoiding being alone with me.” His head cocked to the side. “Did I do something wrong?”

Nico sighed a well, running a hand down his face. “I just... Percy's around and-”

Will's jaw tightened. “Do you like?”

“What?” Nico's eyes widened in surprise. “No! Of course not!”

A blond eyebrow arched up in response. “That sounded so convincing.” Sighing, Will took a step back, holding up his hands defensively. “If you'd rather sleep next to him, I'm not going to st-”

“Shut up,” Nico hissed, his fists clenched at his side. He quickly looked away, sulking. “Besides, Percy has a girlfriend, apparently.”

“But you do like him.”

The raven haired boy rubbed at his arm. “I don't want to talk about it. It was a long time ago.” He looked up when Will remained silent. “I just don't want to make us traveling together awkward.”

Will didn't look that convinced. “If you really want to sleep on the couch...”

When Nico didn't respond, Will let out a sigh and went for the door. Only when the blond was almost gone did Nico reach out and grab the back of his shirt. “Wait,” the brown-eyed boy whispered. Will turned around and tilted his head to get a better look at Nico's face, reaching out to brush some of the boy's bangs out of his eyes. “I suppose I can sleep in here.”

The corner of the blond's lips tilted up. Nico's hands slowly worked their way from Will's back, until they wrapped around the blond's neck. Brown eyes closed as Will leaned in and planted a chaste kiss on his lips. Nico let out a long sigh. They had not kissed since before Nico ran off, and he had kind of missed it.

A warmth flooded through Nico's body as Will's fingertips slid under Nico's shirt and pressed lightly against the boy's hips. Nico let out a small moan as Will deepened the kiss, and the brown-eyed boy pulled Will down to his level. He could feel Will begin to smile into the kiss.

Pulling back, Will grinned. “What about Percy?” The blond teased.

Nico wanted to smack him. “Way to ruin the mood,” he mumbled.

Nico let out a breath as Will finally left the room. Chewing on his bottom lip, Nico stared at the open door. Perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to try and stock up on some lube and condoms. Unless Will had secretly found some. Nico's eyes slowly narrowed. He really wouldn't be surprised if that were true.

\---------------------------------

Nico was startled awake when he was jerked up from the bed by the back of his hair. He let out a long hiss as his feet stumbled across the floor, his arms wildly trying to pry the hands off of him. It was too dark to see, but the person was far too rough to be either Will or Percy.

Will groaned from behind him. “Wha-” As he sat up, something was smashed over the blond's head.

Nico began to thrash as some duct tape was put over his mouth. A second later, a flashlight was turned on and pointed at his captor's face. And, much to Nico's horror, it was the same face he had briefly been thankful to see a few nights ago. Though, considering what the guy was about to do to him, Nico was instantly frozen in fear at the sight of the man.

It was the same guy that had rescued him from the cannibals, the same guy that had been about to rape him when Thalia had shown up. He jerked Nico by the back of the head, bringing the brown-eyed boy's face closer to him. “I bet you thought you had seen the last of me, eh, brat?” He growled into Nico's face. “Nobody escapes from Orion, kid.”

How had he even found them? Nico wasn't left to wonder about this question very long, as Orion ordered a buddy of his that was in the room to take Will and leave. As soon as the door was closed, Orion locked the door and threw Nico on the bed. From his back pocket, the man produced some rope, which he used to tie Nico's arms behind him.

With a cold grin, Orion grabbed his face and leaned in close. “Since you ran, I'm going to make this extra painful for you, kid.”

Nico tried to scream, but the tape over his mouth kept it muffled. Right now, Nico would have gladly accepted a horde of zombies rampaging into the house. Even if Nico died, at least this asshole would go down with him. And only one of them would be coming back to walk the planet. It seemed like a victory to him.

But nothing ever came. Percy and Will were in no condition to get to him, and Nico was definitely not going to be able to defend himself with his arms bound behind his back. So, all he could do was close his eyes and try to keep from crying as Orion undid his pants.

Pain had been an understatement.

It burned and felt like a knife was digging into his lower body. Not only had Orion penetrated him without a condom, but the man had neither used lube or stretched Nico out. It was not meant to be enjoyable for the brown-eyed boy. His face hurt from where Orion squeezed it harshly each time Nico tried to scream. He tried to kick, but that too was put to rest when the man got tired of it and put a knife to Nico's throat.

When it was finally over, Orion pulled out and spat on Nico with a sneer. Drying tears lingered on the pale boy's cheeks as he curled in on himself. Orion just laughed and put his pants back on, leaving Nico to cry on the bed.

Nico had never felt so unclean. He didn't think he could move. His body was on fire, and it was like he could still feel every single place that Orion had touched him. Nico had never wanted to take a bath so much in his life. His breathing was ragged and Nico barely even blinked. He wanted it to be a dream, but it wasn't.

Finally, Nico just clenched his eyes shut and cried into the mattress.

Something wet trickled down Nico's upper thigh. Judging by the pain that was coursing through his lower half, he honestly wouldn't be surprised if it was blood. There was really only two things that it could be, and neither of them were pleasing to think about.

With a shaky hand, Nico reached down and pulled the covers over himself. He didn't want to move, even if it was to get dressed. His body was still in shock. Nico had imagined his first time having sex before, but never had he thought that something like this could ever happen.

Every single time that he heard movement near the bedroom door, Nico couldn't help but cringe. What if one of Orion's men came in to have their turn with Nico? The brown-eyed boy felt like throwing up just thinking about it. This wasn't going to be his life from now on, was it? Nico didn't think he could take them using his body like that. Surely they would just put him out of his misery now, right? If not, perhaps Nico would need to take matters into his own hands.

As Nico's panic filled eyes scoured the room, Nico heard Orion tell his comrades to check on the other two “asswipes”. Nico bit down on his lip to muffle his cries. The only window in the bedroom was bolted, which meant it was impossible to get through it. Especially in his condition.

When the door opened down the hall, Nico flinched at the sound of something heavy cracking against another solid object. Shouting soon followed, and then it sounded like someone went crashing into a wall.

“Go find him!” Percy shouted.

Feet scuffled across the floor, and Will let out a yelp as it sounded like he barreled into the wall outside the bedroom door. “What the hell is going on-” Orion yelled. Something glass broke and a heavy thud followed.

A second later, the door opened and Nico shut his eyes tight. Had Orion killed Will? Was Nico going to be next. Death would be better than being raped by that man every single night. As the footsteps drew closer to the bed, Nico curled in on himself. He didn't want that man to touch him again.

And then there were warm hands touching his arm and face. “Nico? Are you okay?” It was Will. Slowly, Nico opened his eyes to find Will looking him over. “I heard...”

Out of instinct Nico flinched away from the blond. A quiet curse left the blond's lips as he peeled back the sheet that Nico had wrapped around himself. Fresh tears began to slide down Nico's cheeks as Will's hand ghosted over his leg. Why did anyone have to touch him?

“Nico,” Will breathed. “Oh god.” The blond pursed his lips. “Percy!” With a sharp intake of breath, Will pulled away from Nico. “I'm sorry, I shouldn't have- Oh god.” A great sadness overcame those blue eyes that always seemed to be filled with happiness and warmth. With a gulp, those same blue eyes drifted back to Nico's legs. “You're still bleeding.”

Percy barreled through the doorway, his eyes wide and his face a little bruised. He was bleeding from his nose, though the green-eyed boy didn't even seem to notice. Nico's dark eyes flickered down to the floor around Percy's feet, where Orion could be found, unconscious on the floor.

Percy's eyes darted between Will and Nico. “What?”

Will's hand hovered over Nico, though the blond soon retracted it and just looked up at Percy. “They raped him.”

From the floor, Orion let out a groan. With a sneer, Percy gave the man a sharp kick to the head. The green-eyed boy let out a sigh before moving into the room. He pushed Will aside and hovered over Nico. “Sorry about this, Nico.”

Will's eyes widened. “What are you doing? You shouldn't touch him!”

Percy just tossed the blond a look and Will quickly clamped his mouth shut. Percy let out a sigh and scooped up Nico, who screamed and began to punch Percy in the chest. The green-eyed boy didn't let go. With Nico in hand, Percy headed for the door. “If he is going to hate someone, let him hate me.” As he passed by, Percy delivered another kick to Orion's head. “Come on, we've got to get moving.”

However, they seemed to be out of good luck for the night. As soon as they got close to the car, Percy let out a hiss. “They slashed our tires.”

Will just started to run, motioning for Percy to follow. “I got a bag, but we need to move.”

And off they went, into the night. With barely any supplies, no water, no food, no change of clothes, and a boy that just wanted to get away from everyone, including the two people that were with him.

\-----------------------------------------

Percy only put Nico down when they were on the other side of the town and in a secure office building. There was no light, save for a little moonlight that found its way in through a small window. Percy put Nico down in a corner and the brown-eyed boy quickly shoved him away. Nico curled up into a small ball, facing away from the other two.

Will knelt down beside him, the bag he had carried out of the house in his hand. “I'm so sorry, Nico. I couldn't protect you.”

It wasn't Will's fault. Nico wanted to tell the blond this, but nothing would come out. Instead, Nico just stared at Will with lifeless eyes. Will sat down on his butt, bringing his knees up to his chest and tangling his hands in his hair. He conflicted.

Will finally slowly reached beside him and unzipped the backpack, pulling his small medical bag from inside it. “Nico,” the blond said barely above a whisper, “I need to clean the blood off of you and check for any serious injuries.”

Percy, who was pacing several feet away, let out a sigh. “Don't you need light for that?”

Will softly smiled down at Nico. “I do have a flashlight that I use for emergencies.” Sure enough, he pulled out a tiny flashlight from the backpack. “I'd consider this an emergency.”

It wasn't exactly how Nico pictured the first time Will would see him naked would go. Not that the pale boy did anything aside from flinch. A few tears fell down his cheeks when Will removed the cover that was still wrapped around Nico's lower half. Nico, for his part, couldn't even find himself to be embarrassed. He just wanted it to be over. Will was professional, touching Nico only when he had to and didn't appear to be embarrassed at all.

Once Nico was finally cleaned up, Will pulled out some pants. “These will probably be a bit big on you, but it's all we have.” The blond placed them beside Nico, who once again had the blanket wrapped tightly around himself. Will's eyes fell a little when Nico didn't budge.

Percy sat down on the opposite side of the room, his brow furrowed as he watched Nico carefully. Will stayed close to Nico's side, but refrained from touching the boy any further. But Will's eyes remained on Nico's form for as long as the pale boy stared back at the blond. Nico wasn't sure if Will could see that he was staring, since he was in a dark corner, but it didn't seem to matter. Nico, however, could vaguely see the blond's face, as well as the pain that filled it.

As Nico curled up more and shut his eyes, another tear trailed down his cheek. He just wanted to wake up from this nightmare. Yet he couldn't. There was no escape, not from this hell.

“I'm sorry,” Will whispered again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the short chapter, I have just been going through a writer slump.


	8. With Winter on the Horizon

It was rather gloomy when Nico woke up the next morning. The sun should have been up, but the clouds outside prevented most of the sun's rays from coming through. Will and Percy were already up, though Nico had no clue where they were. Sitting up, Nico's shoulders slumped. He wished that everything from last night had just been a dream, but everything inside of him told him that he wasn't that lucky.

The only two weapons that they had managed to grab last night had been Will's crossbow and a knife that Percy had claimed for himself, and both were now gone. Nico had just wanted to be alone after everything last night, but now that he was, he just wanted the other two back. He didn't like being alone right now, especially not while they were in the same town that Orion might still be.

As if they knew they knew Nico was looking for them, the door swung open and in walked Percy and Will. Nico flinched when the door hit the wall. Percy did not look that happy and Will sounded like he was just trying to calm down the green-eyed boy.

“It'll be okay, Percy,” the blond assured the tallest of the three.

Percy's lips tilted down in a frown, his brow furrowed. “They took our supplies, man. We have nothing. There's no water or food, and you have very little medical supplies.” Percy let out a huff and plopped down on the floor. “And all we have as far as weapons go is a crossbow, which only has a few bolts left, and a knife. We need guns and ammunition.”

Will let out a sigh of exasperation and placed his hands on his hips. His eyes wandered over to where Nico sat and the frustration in the blond's eyes visibly dissipated when he saw that Nico was awake. Without even replying to Percy, Will walked over to Nico and sat down a few inches away from the brown-eyed boy.

“How are you feeling?” Will asked softly. Nico never answered him, but that didn't seem to hinder the blond. Will pointed to his own chin and tilted his head back, signaling what he wanted from Nico.

Letting out a sigh, Nico leaned his head back and let Will inspect him. He was at least grateful that the blond was actively trying not to touch him. He had barely eaten anything last night, yet Nico did not think he would be able to stomach food at the moment. He didn't really know what to feel right now, to be honest. He just wanted the world to stop for a moment, so that he could just catch his breath.

Unfortunately, Nico wasn't that lucky.

“We need to move soon,” Percy blurted out.

Will's brow furrowed as he turned his attention away from the pale boy in front of him. “Nico needs more rest. Besides, we don't have any transportation.”

Percy rubbed his jaw for a moment. “Put new tires on our car maybe?”

Will gave shrug. “If you can find some, and then we have to hope they didn't do anything else to the car.” Letting out a breath, Will turned back to Nico. “But walking is going to suck and is risky. We are still a ways from your rendezvous point. You said they wouldn't wait too long, right?”

“Right,” Percy muttered. Groaning in frustration, Percy fell back onto the floor. “I should have just killed that bastard when we had the chance! Then we could have just taken their car, and we would have still had our supplies.”

Will pursed his lips as he inspected Nico. The blond glanced down, indicating that he was debating checking on Nico's lower half. Nico's stomach tightened just at the thought. This was not something he wanted to feel, especially towards Will. As much as he protested and argued with their flirting, Nico did like Will. He was a nice guy, who did not try to make sexual advances on him upon first meeting. But, right now, Nico did not want the blond to touch him in the least bit.

“Well, if we don't have a car, we should at least get moving,” Percy said, climbing back to his feet. “If we can reach my group, they will have food and transportation. We have a small convoy, so Nico would be safe if we could reach them.”

Shaking his head, Will got up as well. “He's not in any condition to travel on foot, Percy.” The blond motioned to Nico, who just sort of stared at the floor. “If we encounter infected, he's not going to be able to run. He's still hurt and sore, he was bleeding last night. I get that we need to hurry, but we'd be better off with a car.” Picking up his crossbow from a table, he handed it to Percy. “Take this, go fix the car like you suggested.”

Percy looked at the crossbow for a moment before he shoved it back towards the blond. “You keep it. If infected or Orion shows up, you will need it. Besides, I've never used one of those, so I'm probably a lousy shot.”

Will shrugged and placed the bow back on the table. “Just try to be quick.” He scratched the back of his head. “There was a grocery store two blocks down the road, I might try my luck there while you're gone.”

Nodding, Percy grabbed his knife and headed out the door. Once they were alone, Will let out a sigh and opened his bag of medical supplies. Nico's eyes flickered up to watch the blond. It didn't look like Will was trying to find anything in particular, so perhaps he was just trying to assess what supplies they did have. Nico's brow furrowed. He really did not want to be alone right now.

“Are you going to leave me here?” He mumbled.

Will looked up in surprise. “What? Oh, you mean while I go looking for food?” The blond asked. Nico gave a small nod. “I didn't know if you wanted to come. You should lay down and get some rest, Nico.”

Nico frowned. “What if he comes back for me?”

Will's head tilted to the side. “Percy and I went to check the house we were staying in last night, and it looked like they had moved on. I doubt they are still in town.” He pursed his lips at the pained look on Nico's face. “But if you want to come, you're more than welcome to.”

“Good,” Nico whispered, wiping at his face. It was hot and wet, which meant that he was crying. The boy buried his face in his hands. He was losing control over his body and it sucked.

“How are you feeling?” Will asked again, repeating his question from earlier.

Nico glared up at the blond with a look that clearly said: Really, you're seriously going to ask me that?

“Right.” Will pursed his lips. “I know this is hard, and I can't imagine what you're going through. But you need to let me and Percy help as much as possible. I can help with the physical damage, and you can come to me with any of the emotional scars that this is going to leave behind.”

Nico brought his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. “I really don't want to talk about it.”

“I'm sorry, Nico.”

Irritation filled Nico's eyes as he glared up at the blond. “Stop saying that, idiot.”

Will's brow furrowed as he frowned down at the raven haired boy on the floor. He didn't look upset by Nico's response, just a little hurt. “Well, I suppose we should start looking for some new supplies then.”

\------------------------------

There was nothing in the entire town. Absolutely nothing. The only sources of food that Nico and Will could come across were things that had expired nearly a year ago. Not that Nico had really done much looking. He just didn't want to be alone, but Nico just couldn't see the point of their search.

They might find food. Then what? Continue as they were, hoping that something like last night didn't happen again? Or worse, they didn't get torn apart by zombies? Yeah, great way to live.

When things calmed down after the initial wave of infection, Nico often stumbled across bodies of people that had committed suicide. Back then, he had never really understood why someone would resort to that, but now it did not seem so bad these days. Back then, he had hoped that someone would find a cure and things would go back to normal, but that dream was long over. Nothing was going to change. Eventually, their entire race would die off and the world would forget about all humankind. And the planet itself? She just wouldn't give a single shit about losing them.

After about two hours of searching, Will finally came over to where Nico was sitting on the floor and dropped two cans of some unmarked food in their bag. That smile was still on the blond's face and Nico couldn't help but stare at it. The smile didn't make sense to Nico. What did Will have to be happy about? There was no reason to smile, their lives were literally a living hell.

When Nico was younger, his mother used to drag him to her church. There had been one sermon that had stuck with Nico over the years, and that was the one about the rapture. The dead was supposed to walk the earth, and all those left behind would have to live several years in all of it. While Nico didn't recall bright lights or trumpets—much less people vanishing and leaving their clothes behind—it kind of felt like they might have been on to something. Just...the things weren't technically dead.

If only they were, then science could have given them the blessing of rigor mortis.

“How are you doing, angel?” Will finally asked.

Glaring, Nico looked up at the blond. “How many times are you going to ask me that?” Nico spat. “My answer isn't going to change in the next few hours.”

Will pursed his lips, another can of food in his hand. “I'm sorry. I just... I want you to talk to me, Nico. I know this is hard, but I don't want you to shut yourself away.” He placed the can in the bag and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I just wish there was something more I could do.”

Nico's brow furrowed and he turned his head away from the blond. “You could start by leaving me alone. I'm fine, I don't need you playing mother hen with me.”

“You're not fine, Nico,” Will gently replied. “Nobody would be fine after what happened to you.”

“Why do you even care?”

The genuine hurt look on Will's face simmered some of the anger inside of Nico. “Because, we're in this together.” A soft smile touched at Will's lips. “You watch my back, I watch yours, remember?”

Before Nico could even muster a reply, the doors opened and Percy came into the grocery store with a huge grin on his face. “Looks like we still have a ride,” the green-eyed boy announced. “Just... You wouldn't happen to have the keys, would you?”

Will nodded over to his bag. “They should be in there, somewhere.”

They barely had any food or supplies in general, Nico noted as Will tossed the two bags they had into the back of the car. One was barely halfway full of medicine, the other maybe had enough food to last them two nights. Not very promising, but at least they had transportation. It was something, Nico supposed.

Instead of climbing into the front with Will, like he normally would, Nico opened up the backseat door and crawled inside. Will turned his head and blinked at the raven haired boy, who merely curled up in a ball and closed his eyes, but didn't say anything about it. A few minutes later, Percy drove away from the house that would probably haunt Nico for many years. Well, as long as he lived to see those years.

It was a few miles before Percy and Will noted seeing any infected, though Nico did not bother sitting up to look at them. “Looked like the town had been picked clean, so they probably don't have a reason to be there,” Will theorized.

And it was true, the town had been entirely clean of corpses or any uninfected people, at least until they got there anyways.

After a while, Nico began to wonder if Will had let Percy drive so that he could keep an eye on Nico. After the fourth time in a five minute time span, Nico glared at the blond, who smiled sheepishly and turned his attention back ahead of them. However, Nico immediately kicked himself for being so aggressive towards the blond.

It was sweet that Will was so concerned about him, but Nico's body just didn't want the blond to even touch him. But, at the same time, Nico also just wanted to be held by Will. This thought also made Nico cringe. Deep down, he knew that Will was not Orion, but it did not change matters. His body and mind were at war with each other. Ever since it happened, Nico just wanted to find a shower and scrub his body clean, but those days were long over. There was no such luxury anymore.

Letting out a sigh, Nico buried his face into the seat of the car and closed his eyes. If he was lucky, he would have some decent dreams and could escape from this nightmare for a little while. If he was lucky.

He wasn't exactly sure how long he had been asleep, but the sun looked like it was close to going down when Nico woke up. His brow furrowed as he felt a weight on his body. Opening his eyes, Nico looked down to find Will's jacket over him. He frowned to himself, his dark eyes drifting to where the blond sat.

Will wasn't paying him any attention, staring idly out the window. He exhaled quite heavily through his nostrils, which managed to catch Percy's attention. “Can I ask you something?” The green-eyed boy asked, turning his head briefly to look at the blond beside him.

Will looked away from the window, his eyebrows raised at Percy. “Hmm?”

“Why do you smile so much?” Percy tilted his head to the side. “Whenever he's looking at you, you always seem to smile. Yet you didn't smile at all when we went back to the house, not to mention whenever Nico's asleep. So, why do you smile when he's looking?”

Letting out a sigh, Will shrugged. “I suppose I just want him to feel like there's still reason to keep going. Since we met, there has been a few times that I've gotten worried that he might be giving up, and now this happened to him.” He briefly pursed his lips. “I guess I just want him to feel like there's still hope. I want him to see it. He doesn't smile very much, but when he does, I feel like everything will somehow be all right. I don't know, I just hope that I can manage to instill some of that back on him. I don't want him to give up. I've lost enough survivor groups, I just don't want to see the same happen to him.”

Without even taking his eyes off the road, Percy replied, “Hey, do you think you might like Nico?”

Will snorted and looked back out his passenger window. “Nothing gets by you, does it, Percy?”

“I think that's really cool, though.” Percy finally glanced at Will, the corner of his mouth tilting up into a small smile. “He's been through a lot since all this started, and that's just counting his first night of this. There's no telling what all he went through in the year since he ran off.”

Nico's eyes fell upon the floor. He didn't say anything or let the other two know that he was awake, just laid there in silence. His heart sank a little from what Will had said. Hearing all of that just made things more painful, because Nico knew that there was no way he could endure having anyone, not even Will, touch him right now. 

Why couldn't things just be like they were? If Thalia had just killed Orion, none of this would have happened. And then Percy just let the guy live, what was up with that? What if they ran into the guy again? Nico felt sick just thinking about it.

If Thalia had just killed him, Nico could be enjoying Will's embrace right now. He wanted the comfort, but at the same time, Nico really just wanted to push everyone away and scream as loud as he could. He felt wrong, like something had been stolen from him.

\---------------------------

The next day, the three boys were met with another disappointment.

“Shit,” Percy cursed as they stared at a note that the green-eyed boy had found a few moments ago.

The three of them had arrived at Percy's rendezvous point, only to find no one waiting there. Well, aside from infected, but those things were usually everywhere. It was like the world just wasn't going to let them catch a break. And, according to the note, the next rendezvous point with the group would take around another day, at the very least, to get to. And that was if they drove the entire time the sun was up and the roads were feeling kind to them.

“We could always just drive the whole way, maybe we could even catch up to them,” Percy suggested, handing the note to Will.

The blond glanced it over before wadding up the piece of paper and tossing it aside. “And if the driver manages to fall asleep at the wheel?” Will sighed. “And what if a zombie stumbles out in front of us and we wreck? Not to mention our vehicle isn't cut out for mowing down the infected.” He shook his head. “This is just great. We need some more gas, very soon.”

Nico rubbed at his arm. “Can we make it to Rawlins, Wyoming?”

“Not if we can't find more gas,” Will sighed. He rubbed at the back of his neck and glanced around for a moment. “If they are taking interstate seventy, we'll have to pass through Denver. I think we can all agree that passing through large cities never makes things go smoothly.”

Percy shrugged. “First, we need to worry about the gas. Maybe we can find some around here?” He wondered. “It's only like a ten hour drive, right?”

It was what Will had said, but the blond did not seem so convinced by the idea. Traveling had seemed so simple back before the apocalypse, and now it was just a mess. While the roads were mostly still intact, there was no telling what one might come across on them. There could be a herd of zombies in the path, or a car graveyard. Some bridges could be out, or maybe even a fallen tree. Which all would require turning around and finding a different route.

And Will had good reason to doubt this endeavor.

With all of those possibilities, what would once have taken only ten hours, could now take a day or two to get to. And that was counting their car. What if they couldn't find gas, or some other problem arose with the vehicle?

“If we can make it to Rawlins,” Will began, “and meet up with your group, the rest of the trip won't be so bad. The camp should only take another twelve or so hours to drive to, though that is accounting for traveling before the end of the world. There's no telling anymore. The freaking desert is standing between us and California, Percy. Nature has a way of reclaiming itself, and I get the feeling we'll see that in Nevada.”

“You sound like Annabeth,” Percy mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. “Think positive, man.”

Will let out a sigh and glanced at Nico. A smile touched at his lips, though it was a weak one. “Well, we definitely need to make it to them as soon as possible. We only have one can of food and a pack of dried ramen that we can try to eat tonight.”

Percy's stomach growled at the mere notion of how little they had. Last night, none of them had really eaten very much, and Nico just didn't eat at all. Will had tried to offer the boy his portion of food, but Nico had declined the offer. His stomach was just not willing to hold food.

Frowning to himself, Nico shoved his hands into the pockets of Will's jacket, which the blond still had not taken back. Nico's dark eyes lingered on the blond's form. Will had his hands shoved into his jean pockets and his arms were stiff, signs that he was probably cold. Which was understandable, considering their location.

“Do you want your jacket?” Nico quietly asked.

Will smiled at him and shook his head. “You keep it. We'll find you another jacket at some point, but you can keep mine in the meantime, angel,” the blond replied. Percy snorted. Nico glared and Will gave the green-eyed boy a look to shut him up. “Well, we don't need to just stand around. If we're going to leave, we should do so quickly.”

Percy nodded and headed to the exit. “Great, I'll go hunt down some gas, you guys can go-”

“Um, no.” Will rolled his eyes. “We have infected to worry about now, and very little weaponry to deal with them. We should stick together.” He motioned for Nico to follow and walked after Percy. “Gas will be our main priority, we can worry about food later.”

It took about two hours, but the three of them managed to scrape together a very small amount of gas. Nico watched, bouncing on his heels from the cold, as Percy poured enough gas that would have probably only filled a two liter bottle. The look that Percy gave Will when he was finished let Nico know it all. They wouldn't have enough gas to get them the entire way.


	9. Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things

There were times that Nico really hated being right. This was one of those times. The look that Percy and Will had exchanged had indeed been about the fuel for the car. That morning, when Nico woke up, Percy and Will were already dealing with their nonexistent gas for the car.

“What do we do?” Will asked with a sigh, standing outside the car. The blond had his flannel shirt tied around his waist as he leaned against the car.

Percy's hair was a mess, not to mention that the guy looked exhausted. When Nico had gone to sleep, Percy had still been driving. Had the green-eyed boy driven all night? “We could walk.” Percy rubbed at his jaw. “We shouldn't have much further to go.” He pointed off in the direction that the car had come from. “The sign said about fifteen miles.”

Will shook his head, chewing on his bottom lip. “But that will take longer on foot. Plus, we'll be left exposed, with no real weapons.” The blond nodded his head to the car. “Nico doesn't need to be running right now.”

Nico clenched his jaw, glaring out the window. “I can hear you both, just so you know.”

Will whipped around, his face slightly red. He chuckled nervously and gave Nico a small wave. The brown-eyed boy flipped him off. Clearing his throat, Will opened the car door. “We were just trying to figure out a solution to our problem.”

Still glaring at the blond, Nico slid out of the car, rolling his shoulders to slip into Will's jacket. “I'm fine to walk, you don't need to baby me.”

“But-”

“I said that I'm fine,” Nico barked at Will. Percy took a small step back.

Pursing his lips, Will glanced over Nico's shoulder. “Well, I suggest we should get moving then.” He nodded behind Nico. “Looks like we've got some company.”

Nico and Percy turned to look at whatever it was that Will saw. Sure enough, there were two zombies headed their way. Percy nudged past Nico and grabbed their bag from the backseat. He tossed it over his shoulder and pulled out his knife. Will pulled out his crossbow from the passenger seat and motioned for them to get moving.

Their pace was pretty much a power walk. While they still had the infected following them, Will suggested that they ignore their pursuers for now. There was a dull ache that coursed throughout Nico's lower half, but he chose not to voice it to the others. He could deal with it. What he didn't appreciate was how close Percy and Will were standing to him. The two pretty much had Nico boxed in, like they were guarding him from a sneak attack from the zombies.

Rawlins did not look that appealing when they arrived.

The entire city was crawling with the infected. Will did not look so cheerful anymore. This was going to make their job of locating Percy's group rather difficult. Next to impossible, really. But it had to be done, if they wanted to survive.

The three boys sat on a rusted fire escape they had found on one of the buildings. Scattered newspapers and random debris littered the streets. Glass laid scattered around the broken cars that could be found all around. There were even a few bodies that didn't seem to be getting up anytime soon. All of that was fine, until it came to the things that actually were walking around. It was amazing they had gotten this far, really.

And now they had a small army gathered under their feet. Not a promising start for getting to their destination. On the bright side, at least they had made it to Rawlins.

The problem was that, since they had walked so much, they really did not have the energy to fight off any zombies. Which sort of was important, since the ground was crawling with the infected.

“Maybe we could signal for help,” Percy suggested, resting his chin on the railing in front of him.

“And what would we use?” Nico sent a small glare over to the green-eyed boy. “It's not like we have a flare gun, or anything of the sorts.”

“Not even an actual gun,” Will mumbled. The blond's shoulders sagged a little as he stared at the street below them. “We're so close.”

Percy let out a grunt and climbed to his feet. He walked three steps behind them and bent down to inspect the dirty window there. Nico quickly averted his gaze, since the idiot's ass was now practically in his face. Will arched an eyebrow at him and Nico had to find somewhere else to turn his attention.

Nico pulled his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, a pout now on his lips. Stupid Will, and stupid Percy as well. Nico was surrounded by idiots. Stupid concerned and observant idiots. Nico had been so much fucking better off on his own.

The brown-eyed boy's attention was brought back to Percy when the oldest boy shattered the window. “What are you doing?” Nico hissed.

Percy turned and blinked at him. “Finding us another way, unless you'd rather try to make friends with those guys down there.” He smirked at the pale boy. “They only look really hungry.”

“Shut up, Jackson,” Nico muttered as he climbed through the window.

Once inside, Nico dusted off his legs. He squinted into the dark building as Will came in behind him. It looked like an apartment building, though this apartment looked like it got hit by a tornado. Most of the stuff was knocked over and the kitchen had been picked clean. Even the door of the apartment had been kicked in.

“Wow, this place is a dump,” Percy assessed once he was inside. Nico gave him a dull look.

“I don't see how this solves our problem.” Will eased past Nico, stepping over a broken television. “We still have to get down to ground level, and then somehow find your friends.” The blond rubbed his neck and glanced at the green-eyed boy beside him. “If, you know, they are even still here.”

“They'll be here.” Percy waved him off and placed his hands on his hips. “Somewhere.”

“I-” Nico began, but soon fell quiet when his ears picked up on a strange whistling sound. The others must have picked up on it, because Will and Percy were scratching their heads and searching for the source. “What is that?”

Will leaned towards the window. “Sounds almost like-”

Nico's eyes widened when an explosion went off a few buildings across the road. He let out a yelp as Will practically tackled him to the ground. Glass flew overhead, landing harmlessly on the ground around them.

“Propane,” Percy said.

“Thank you for that assessment,” Nico sighed. Frowning, he pushed the blond off of him. Will mumbled and apology, his head slightly down. Nico's shoulders slumped. The idiot looked like a kicked puppy. Nico didn't mean to be so hard on him, it was just...difficult to let Will touch him right now. He nudged the blond with his foot. “Thank you.”

Will beamed at that. He got to his feet and offered Nico a hand, though the boy did not take it. “We should find out what caused that.”

Percy, who had his head poked out the window, motioned for them to come over. “Looks like we better get going then, the zombies are moving towards the explosion.”

True enough, the hoard that had congregated around the alleyway that they used to get onto the fire escape were slowly making their way over to the building that the explosion came from. Nico's brow furrowed as he squinted. He could have sworn he saw two figures move on the rooftop, but he just couldn't seem to locate them.

The three quickly made their way downstairs and got to the door. Since it was locked, Percy was forced to kick in the glass. A few infected turned towards them, but the bulk of the hoard kept wandering closer to the building that the explosion came from.

“Over there,” Will motioned, pointing to an alley across the street. Nico managed to catch two skinny boys jumping into a window. “We should follow them. Maybe they are with your group, Percy.”

Percy was already running toward the alley. “Oh, I can assure you, they are. That was Travis and Connor.”

By the time they got into the alley across the road and went through the window that the two figures had vanished into, Nico's body was screaming for him to stop. He was still recovering from their walk from the car. Nico just didn't bring it up, because he really did not want Will fussing over him. But now his upper thighs felt like they were on fire and he felt a little light headed.

In truth, he had not slept much last night, or the night before that. It was hard to sleep now, because all he saw when he closed his eyes was Orion's face. In his dreams he could still feel the man touching him, and it made his skin crawl. His future for getting proper sleep was not too bright, if Nico was being honest with himself. How was he supposed to sleep like this?

“Travis? Connor?” Percy called out when they could find no sign of his friends. Some glass broke nearby when two zombies tried to come in through a boarded up window. “Shit. Travis! Connor! It's Percy!”

From above them, though Nico was not certain how they got up there, two heads of brown hair poked through a large hole in the ceiling. “Hey there, Percy!” The one on the left called with a huge grin. “We weren't sure if you were going to make it.”

The second one tossed down a rope. “Come on, wouldn't want you three to get eaten,” he chuckled. “So, I see you found some new friends.” The boy took Nico's hand as he reached the top. “My name is Connor, and that is my brother Travis.”

“Twins?” Nico asked.

The first boy, Travis, chuckled. “No, I'm older by about a year.” He placed his hand on Connor's head before shifting it over and barely an inch up to be placed over his own head. “See? I'm taller.”

“Uh-huh,” Nico replied, though he was not really convinced. It was barely even noticeable, but Travis said it like it was the most obvious thing. 

After Will and Percy got up, Travis pulled the rope back up to them. “Where's the rest of the group?” Percy asked.

“Well,” Connor began, “that is actually why we were out here. See, they sent us out to cause a distraction, but we couldn't really find anything that would do the job. And, you know, while we were out, Travis and I thought we would see what we could...acquire.”

Travis nudged his brother. “It's not really stealing anymore, not if everyone is dead, idiot.”

“Right.” Connor rolled his eyes, but turned back to the other three with a huge grin. “So, when we found this propane tank, we got the perfect idea.”

Travis reached over and dusted at Connor's hair. Some ash fell out of it. “Connor here thought he was far enough away.”

“You were distracting me!”

“Right,” Percy sighed. “But where is the rest of the group?”

“Oh,” both brunets said in unison.

Travis glanced around for a moment and then moved over to a window. He pointed outside. Percy, Nico, and Will stepped over and peered outside. The older brunet pointed to a building in the distance. “They are there. The place is surrounded. We used the sewers to sneak out, but we need to get to the vehicles.” Travis blinked at the three boys. “I don't suppose you guys have anything like a rocket launcher, do you?”

Nico gave the brunet a dull look. “Does it look like we are carrying one?”

Connor smirked. “I like him.”

“We are hoping that the explosion caused a diversion for the others to use,” Travis explained.

“Well, I guess we can't know until we get there.” Percy knocked on the window with his knuckles. “Let's get going.” He motioned to Travis and Connor. “Lead the way, boys.”

Travis and Connor led them up to the roof, where they had to jump over to another building. From there, they had to cross another gap by why of a wooden board. The group climbed down a fire escape and ended up in another alley. Travis motioned to a manhole cover in the middle of the street. There were a few zombies nearby, but they seemed to be slowly migrating back the way the group had just come from.

“If the zombies that were surrounding us got pulled towards the noise, they'll probably be heading this way soon,” Travis said before he dashed towards the manhole. “Wouldn't want to be here when they arrived.”

By the time Nico reached the hole, Travis and Percy had the cover pulled off. Connor climbed down first, followed closely by Nico and Will. Travis came down next, while Percy closed the manhole before he too joined them. Connor pulled out a flashlight from his back pocket and led the way.

The sewers smelled horrible, but at least it seemed to be vacant of zombies. It was apparent that the brothers had left markers, because every now and then, Connor would shine the light on corners and look for white chalk marks. Nico really hoped the distraction worked, or else they would probably just end up getting eaten otherwise. And if they did manage to survive, Nico would get to explain how he was immune. That would be loads of fun.

The five of them emerged in the basement of a building. Travis and Connor closed the manhole behind them before leading the other three up a set of stairs. The two poked their heads out a door and waved, presumably at other people.

“Travis and Connor are back!” Someone called out.

“Good, have them help us load up,” a girl replied. “We need to leave as quickly as possible.”

In a flash, Percy shoved past Travis and Connor and went through the door. The brothers chuckled and motioned for Will and Nico to follow. Percy held his arms open as he walked towards a blonde girl, who was too busy loading boxes to notice him.

“Annabeth,” Percy finally called out.

The girl looked up with wide eyes. A smile tugged at her lips as she spotted him. As Percy ran to her, the blonde girl tucked some hair behind her ear. They both laughed as Percy picked her up and hugged her tightly. And when the green-eyed boy kissed her, Nico knew that it was indeed Percy's girlfriend. The boy let out a sigh and averted his gaze from the two, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“We also found two new survivors,” Connor announced, shoving Will and Nico forward. Nico's body instantly tensed at the contact. Will glared at the brunet, pushing Connor slightly away. The brunet blinked at them. “What?”

Annabeth nodded. “Great.” Once she got Percy to let her go, she walked over and held out her hand. “My name is Annabeth, and I do my best to keep this group together.”

When Nico didn't shake her hand, Will quickly stepped up and took it. “My name is Will, this is Nico.” Annabeth's brows instantly furrowed as she peered at the brown-eyed boy with her stormy gray eyes. “I don't suppose you have room for us, do you?”

Annabeth stared at Nico for a moment longer before she nodded. “Of course, as long as you two are willing to pull your weight.”

Will nodded. Percy scratched at his head. “Where's Chiron?”

Annabeth let out a sigh. “He's outside, helping to get everything loaded into the vehicles.” She nodded at Will and Nico. “Chiron is the one that is actually in charge, he ran the camp that we were staying at, until we were overrun. He'll want to meet you personally...just once we are far away from this mess.”

There was a loading bay in the back of the building, where an old school bus was lodged up against the entrance. The boxes that the group had been packing up were being hastily loaded on board, while a few survivors managed to keep the infected away with the help of some barriers made of broken cars, barbed wire, and planks of wood.

The explosion did not seem to have decreased the amount of zombies surrounding the building by very much. They were banging on the front doors, nearly having shattered the glass. It wouldn't keep them out much longer. Annabeth had Will and Nico help the others load the supplies, while Percy went off to help defend the group.

“Doesn't look like the defenses will hold much longer,” Annabeth assessed, emerging from the building to toss another box onto the bus.

There was a church bus in the alley as well, but it was more for transporting people, Annabeth said. A gunshot rang out, along with cracking wood, which drew everyone's attention. Someone screamed as they were buried alive under a mass of zombies trying to get through the barriers, which now had a gaping opening in it.

“We need to leave!” Annabeth shouted. “Now!”

There were no arguments. Those that were trying to keep the zombies back scattered and ran towards the buses, while the people that had been loading supplies jumped on the school bus. Will practically shoved Nico into a seat as a very tall man with a beard climbed into the front and cranked the bus. Percy tried to get back to his bus to get to Annabeth, but Travis and Connor shoved him on the church bus.

The school bus roared to life and began to roll forward. The zombies charged and slammed against the church bus behind them, while some of the survivors tried to thin them out by swinging bats or shooting guns.

As it picked up some speed, the school bus broke through a wooden barrier, smashing the zombies on the other side underneath its heavy weight. The other bus followed them out and the two vehicles maneuvered through the streets, dodging any abandoned vehicles when necessary. They didn't slow down until they reached the city line.

“Are you okay?” Will asked once everything had calmed down.

“I'm fine,” Nico mumbled, shoving the blond to the other side of the seat. He didn't want to be so close, at least part of him didn't. “You don't have to treat me like glass.” Nico chose to ignore the hurt look on Will's face and leaned against the window.

\---------------------

The buses came to a stop in the middle of nowhere. The man driving the bus directed everyone off. It was to account for everyone. Annabeth followed along beside the tall man, who Nico could only assume was Chiron by this point, and the two checked names off.

“Where's Silena and Beckendorf?” Percy asked.

Annabeth pursed her lips together. “Silena got bit...Beckendorf wouldn't leave her.” She squeezed Percy's shoulder. “I'm sorry. We left him with his gun, if that is any consolation.”

“Not really,” Percy muttered, kicking at the ground.

A woman ran her hand through Percy's hair. Her features did not really match the green-eyed boy, but Nico was going to assume she was Percy's mother. If that were true, Percy really shouldn't complain. At least he still had his mother...and his girlfriend. It was more than Nico had. The boy had lost his entire family in a single night.

His dark eyes unconsciously drifted over to Will, who was not really paying attention to anything. Well, at least he had something, Nico supposed. He just wished that he could bring himself to actually let Will touch him, and not freak out over it.

“And who do we have here?” The very tall man asked. He towered over Nico, though he was not intimidating at all. In truth, his brown eyes were actually very warm to look at.

Percy clapped Will on the shoulder. He was going to do the same to Nico, but the idiot seemed to catch himself within an inch of making contact with the brown-eyed boy's shoulder. “This is Will and Nico. I knew Nico before the outbreak, and we found each other again when we almost got eaten by cannibals. Fun stuff, right Neeks?”

“Don't call me that?” Nico mumbled, taking a step away from the green-eyed boy.

Annabeth had her eyes on Nico again. “Percy, didn't you and Thalia mention a Nico?”

Percy beamed at the blonde. “Yeah, this is him. Isn't it awesome that I found him?”

Nico's eyes flickered down when Annabeth reached for the knife on her belt. “You also said he got bitten. Care to explain how he's standing here right now.”

Everyone but Will and Percy took a step away from Nico. The boy tried to not let it show, but it kind of stung. Still, it was to be expected. At least they didn't shoot him on the spot.

“He's immune,” Will quickly supplied, putting himself slightly in front of Nico. Stupid idiot, who asked him to be protective? “He got bitten in front of me as well, and he's still kicking.”

Nico wanted to kick Will. “Look, I can show you a bite mark, if that will help.”

There was a lot of whispering among the other survivors. “If he is immune, does that mean there could be a cure?” Someone shouted from the crowd.

Chiron motioned for everyone to settle down. “We do not know.”

“We don't even know if there's someone alive to make one anymore,” Annabeth muttered.

Nico pressed his lips together. “I just want to feel safe somewhere. Please don't send me out there on my own.”

Will furrowed his brow as he stared down at the raven haired boy. “You wouldn't be going alone, I'd come with you.”

Annabeth let out a sigh. “Relax, we're not going to make you leave. If you're immune, that's good. I'm sure we can find uses for you.”

Will stepped in front of Nico again. “He's immune, not unkillable.” The blond shook his head. “Besides, he needs some rest, he's been through a lot recently.”

“Well, we still need to get to California.” Annabeth arched an eyebrow at Nico. “We can give him some medication, if he needs any.”

Will perked up a little. “Can I see what you have? I was getting a medical degree before all this happened.”

A smile broke out on Chiron's face. “That is good to hear, we could use a medic.” He motioned towards the buses. “We should get back on the road, we still have a long ways to go.” He gave Will and Nico a nod. “Nice meeting you both.” His eyes then fell on Nico specifically. “You should probably get some rest, son, while we drive.”

Nico gave a small nod as the group made their way back onto the buses. This time, Percy joined them on the school bus. Nico went and curled up on a seat, while Will sat on the one across from him. The blond looked a little hurt that he couldn't be closer to the raven haired boy, but Nico didn't budge. He just blinked at the blond, who gave him a weak smile.

It was hard not to stare at that smile. Nico knew now that Will was just trying to make Nico feel better by doing it, but it still made him feel special. It was nice, because Will was doing it just for him. When Nico managed to cope with everything that had happened, Nico was going to kiss the blond idiot very hard. But not now. Right now, Nico just wanted to stay curled up in a ball. 

His eyes began to droop as the warmth of the jacket pressed against his face. Will's jacket. Remembering this, Nico took in a deep breath. When they got to the camp, if it was still there, Nico just hoped that he wouldn't get separated from Will. He wasn't sure what their living arrangements, but he knew that he wanted to be close to the blond. Nico didn't care that he couldn't bring himself to let Will touch him right now, he didn't want to be apart from the blond either.

He just hoped that the camp was actually still there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm really sorry this took so long to get out. I just was having a hard time writing this chapter, I've felt very unmotivated to write it lately. I'm hoping it will get better now that they are with more people, but we will see. The other reason is because I've started a book, which will take top priority of my writing time. That's just how it will be. I do hope you all enjoyed the chapter, though, and sorry if it sucked.

**Author's Note:**

> So, I'll probably come back and add character tags later, because I'm not fully sure who all I'm going to use yet. But it'll be a few chapters before Will and Nico run into other survivors. Also, my desktop is not working right now, so I'm not sure how long it will be before I can get back to work on something like Children of Loss. So, I might take a few days off. And if it's still not fixed in a week, I'll probably continue with this or my next chapter for House of the Wicked.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. This will count as my Halloween contribution this year, and it will be multiple chapters.


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